The treatment strategy for GADThe treatment strategy for GAD

For an increasing number of people, the world is becoming a frightening place. Whatever they do, there seem to be risks involved. As the recession has taken hold, the risks seem to multiply. Now there's insecurity in the job market. Will you be hired? Can you hold down the job? With credit increasingly difficult to find, credit card limits have been cut. For those still able to pay the mortgage installments, home values are falling as foreclosures destroy market confidence. Rents still seem high as there's demand from those losing their homes. Family budgets are under pressure and some prices, say for health insurance, just seem to keep on rising. It's all a recipe for sleepless nights and growing anxiety. Except, all this worry is based on real world events. This is what we are all supposed to be able to live with. Yes, we may all be stressed. Things may be difficult at work. We may be irritable and this is affecting our relationships. We may be tempted to drink a little more alcohol or do some drugs to calm down. But this is not a disorder. For anxiety to be considered a disorder, two things have to happen. The level of worry must become consistently high and disrupt the normal pattern of life for a significant length of time. Second, the source of the worry must be difficult to identify. To be a disorder, the anxiety must not be completely rational.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defined Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) as a general sense of fear without an obvious cause. If you consult a doctor, the first steps toward diagnosis are to exclude physical causes. An overactive thyroid or early symptoms of heart disease can cause anxiety. Indeed, your mind can exaggerate even mild physical symptoms into major worries. Then there are the standard diagnostic questionnaires approved by the APA and accepted by the health insurance industry. All these tests will be covered by the standard health plans.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the treatment strategy is to use a drug like Klonopin for short-term relief. Once you are less worried and there have been no panic attacks, it's time to turn to talk therapy. The best of these is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It aims to give you the right skills to control your anxieties without having to depend on drugs. This reflects the general problem with the benzodiazepine group of drugs. They are effective over a short period of time, but you grow used to them and they lose their effectiveness. Unlike the antidepressants, none of the anti-anxiety drugs should be taken for more than one or two months. So working through your problems with a CBT specialist teaches you how to put your life back together again. This is the better strategy than buying a drug at the first sign of worry in your life and then being forced to continue taking it for years to come. Ignoring the cost which will steadily mount up, the long-term effect on your health is not good. Worse, if you do try to stop, the withdrawal symptoms are very unpleasant.