Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is one of the most common mental health problems in America on and off of college campuses. GAD affects approximately 6.8 million adults in the United States in any given year, with women being twice as likely as men to be affected by GAD. A diagnosis of GAD can be made when a patient has experienced intense feelings of anxiety more days than not over a six month period. Other symptoms include fatigue, digestion problems, sweating, rapid heartbeat, restlessness and even depression. The onset of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is most likely to occur between childhood and middle age and is most prevalent between the ages of 15 and 24. GAD is a chronic disorder that is generally regarded as a lifelong issue for most patients, but luckily it is treatable by various psychotherapy treatments, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, as well as the prescription of certain drugs including Benzodiazepines and Buspirone.


Prevalence
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health concerns in the United States and they tend to be among one of the most frequently reported mental health concerns on college campuses around the country. There are several types of anxiety disorders including: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder and specific phobias. According to Baez’s article, Evidenced-Based Practice for Anxiety Disorders in College Mental Health, over forty million American adults suffer from some type of anxiety disorder (Baez, 2005). Of those forty million Americans, seventy-five percent reported that they experienced their first episode of anxiety by the age of twenty-two (Baez, 2005). GAD affects approximately 6.8 million adults in the United States in any given year, with women being twice as likely as men to be affected by GAD (“Adaa”).
Syndrome Description
DSM IV-TR Criteria
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental...