Anxiety
About
It's normal to feel anxious from time to time, especially if your life is stressful. However, excessive, ongoing anxiety and worry that are difficult to control and interfere with day-to-day activities may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder.
It's possible to develop generalized anxiety disorder as a child or an adult. Generalized anxiety disorder has symptoms that are similar to panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other types of anxiety, but they're all different conditions.
Living with generalized anxiety disorder can be a long-term challenge. In many cases, it occurs along with other anxiety or mood disorders. In most cases, generalized anxiety disorder improves with psychotherapy or medications. Making lifestyle changes, learning coping skills and using relaxation techniques also can help.
Physical signs and symptoms may include:
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Fatigue
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Trouble sleeping
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Muscle tension or muscle aches
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Trembling, feeling twitchy
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Nervousness or being easily startled
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Sweating
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Nausea, diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome
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Irritability
There may be times when your worries don't completely consume you, but you still feel anxious even when there's no apparent reason. For example, you may feel intense worry about your safety or that of your loved ones, or you may have a general sense that something bad is about to happen.
Your anxiety, worry or physical symptoms cause you significant distress in social, work or other areas of your life. Worries can shift from one concern to another and may change with time and age.
Symptoms
Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms vary from person to person but can include:
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Worrying or anxiety that is out of proportion to the event worried about
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Excessive planning for all possible worst-case situations
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Believing that events are threatening although they are not
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Having a hard time with unexpected events, situations or change of plans
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Difficulty and fear of making a decision that may be wrong
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Inability to set aside or let go of a worry
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Inability to relax, feeling restless, and feeling keyed up or on edge
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Difficulty concentrating, or the feeling that your mind "goes blank"
Some anxiety is normal, but please call (212) 484-2636 for an appointment if:
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You think you worry too much
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Your worries interfere with your work, family life, relationships or other parts of your life
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You feel depressed, or believe you are using alcohol or drugs excessively
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Call 911 immediately if want to hurt yourself or other people
Your worries are unlikely to simply go away on their own, and they may actually get worse overtime. Try to seek professional help before your anxiety becomes severe — it may be easier to treat early on.