As the name suggests the main feature of gad is a chronic state of diffuse anxiety. The syndrome is defined as excessive worry over a period of six months over various life circumstances such as family, work, money and health (Rapee and Barlow 1993). People normally worry about such things but it is the excessiveness and uncontrollability of the worrying that makes it a disorder. People with this disorder are continually waiting for something dreadful to happen either to themselves or to those they care about and this subjective condition spills over onto their cognitive and physiological functioning. They are restless and irritable, their hearts beat faster, they have difficulty concentrating and they tire easily (Thayer, Friedman and Borkovec 1996) They can also suffer from chronic muscle tension or insominia.
In response to these symptoms many can develop a secondary anxiety, that is an anxiety about their anxiety, fearing that their condition will cause them to develop further social and physical health problems such as losing their job or developing ulcers.
Werner Erhard and Associates v. Christopher Cox fo...
English: Dermatophagia - extreme nail biting / bit...
Person washing his handsThe panic disorder GAD usually comes in the wake of a stressful lie event such (Newman and Bland 1994) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD An obsession is a thought or image that keeps intruding into a persons consciousness, the person finds the thought inappropriate or distressing and tries to suppress it but still it returns. Similarly a compulsion is an action that a person feels compelled to repeat again and again even though they have no conscious desire to do so. People suffering from an obsession or compulsion or as is usually the case both, have obsessive compulsive disorder. Most people experience mild symptoms of this disorder with thoughts such as did I lock the door or did I remember to turn the oven off but these thoughts pass and...