Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
Overview
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common mental health condition where you often feel very anxious about lots of different things.
Symptoms
The main symptom of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is feelings of stress or worry that affect your daily life and are difficult to control. Other symptoms of GAD may include: difficulty sleepingfeeling restless, irritable or finding it difficult to concentrategetting tired easilyfeeling tensestomach problemsa more noticeable or unusual heartbeat (palpitations)feeling lightheaded or dizzylow mood or depression There are also other types of anxiety disorder and it's common to have more than one at the same time. For example: sudden attacks of anxiety and panic (panic disorder)an overwhelming fear of something specific (phobias)
Causes
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) does not usually have an obvious cause, but there are some things that can increase your chances of having GAD. These include having: another anxiety disorder, such as panic disorder or social phobiaclose relatives with anxiety disorders, depression or other mental health conditionsa history of stressful or traumatic experiences, such as domestic violence, child abuse or bullyinga painful long-term health condition, such as arthritisa history of drug or alcohol misuse GAD is also more common in women than men.
Treatment
Treatment for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) can help you to manage your symptoms, but it may take time. The main treatments a GP may offer include: talking therapies – usuallycognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)with the support of a therapist, either by yourself or in a groupmedicines that can help to treat anxiety – usually a type ofantidepressantcalled an SSRIreferral to a community mental health team with a range of specialists who can help to create a treatment plan for you A GP will usually advise you to try talking therapies before they prescribe medicine or refer you to a specialist.
When to see a doctor
Support is available if you or someone you know are having a mental health crisis or emergency, no matter what you're going through. Find out where to get urgent help for mental health