What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable, and persistent worry about negative future events (e.g., punctuality, small decisions, work or school, finances, relationship with friends or family, or health). Worries may be accompanied by panic sensations, fatigue, restlessness, muscle tension, irritability, insomnia, and/or problems with concentration.
Safety/Unhealthy Coping Behaviors
People with GAD tend to have poor tolerance of uncertainty and may engage in safety behaviors to attempt to achieve certainty such as excessive reassurance seeking, checking, information seeking, list making, refusal to delegate tasks, avoidance/procrastination, having others make decisions, or keeping distracted or busy.
GAD in Children
The content of worries for children with GAD may also include parental fighting, separation, or divorce; security of their parent's jobs; homework and tests; friendship; someone breaking into the home; safety of self and others; and other areas of life in which children typically have minimal concern. Their worry may manifest itself as irritability, crying, temper tantrums, and clinging to parents or loved ones. They may also engage in excessive reassurance seeking from parents, siblings, teachers, friends, and others in the form of questions or statements.
How We Can Help
Our therapists will use cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to help the individual learn distress tolerance skills and effective self-talk. For children with generalized anxiety disorder, our therapists will guide parents to effectively implement an incentive plan and decrease accommodating behaviors in order to motivate their child to use their coping skills. Most importantly, exposure therapy, problem solving skills, and other interventions are used to help the individual gradually practice confronting uncertainty in day-to-day life without avoidance or employing unhelpful safety behaviors as described above. Exposure practice and elimination of safety behaviors serve to help the individual change his/her beliefs about his/her ability to tolerate uncertainty in life. Furthermore, our therapists encourage the practice of mindfulness and acceptance strategies, allowing individuals to learn to label their emotions without judging them. The goal is to pursue meaningful activities despite the presence of anxiety, thus promoting better overall functioning.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable, and persistent worry about negative future events (e.g., punctuality, small decisions, work or school, finances, relationship with friends or family, or health). Worries may be accompanied by panic sensations, fatigue, restlessness, muscle tension, irritability, insomnia, and/or problems with concentration.
Safety/Unhealthy Coping Behaviors
People with GAD tend to have poor tolerance of uncertainty and may engage in safety behaviors to attempt to achieve certainty such as excessive reassurance seeking, checking, information seeking, list making, refusal to delegate tasks, avoidance/procrastination, having others make decisions, or keeping distracted or busy.
GAD in Children
The content of worries for children with GAD may also include parental fighting, separation, or divorce; security of their parent's jobs; homework and tests; friendship; someone breaking into the home; safety of self and others; and other areas of life in which children typically have minimal concern. Their worry may manifest itself as irritability, crying, temper tantrums, and clinging to parents or loved ones. They may also engage in excessive reassurance seeking from parents, siblings, teachers, friends, and others in the form of questions or statements.
How We Can Help
Our therapists will use cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to help the individual learn distress tolerance skills and effective self-talk. For children with generalized anxiety disorder, our therapists will guide parents to effectively implement an incentive plan and decrease accommodating behaviors in order to motivate their child to use their coping skills. Most importantly, exposure therapy, problem solving skills, and other interventions are used to help the individual gradually practice confronting uncertainty in day-to-day life without avoidance or employing unhelpful safety behaviors as described above. Exposure practice and elimination of safety behaviors serve to help the individual change his/her beliefs about his/her ability to tolerate uncertainty in life. Furthermore, our therapists encourage the practice of mindfulness and acceptance strategies, allowing individuals to learn to label their emotions without judging them. The goal is to pursue meaningful activities despite the presence of anxiety, thus promoting better overall functioning.
P H O N E 219.228.7630
F A X 219.228.1083
E M A I L info@anxietybehavioralhealth.com
A D D R E S S 900 Ridge Road, Suite F, Munster, Indiana 46321
F A X 219.228.1083
E M A I L info@anxietybehavioralhealth.com
A D D R E S S 900 Ridge Road, Suite F, Munster, Indiana 46321