Anxiety is a natural response which everyone experiences from time to time. Most of the time, the anxiety people experience tends to be limited and very short lived.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) however is when a person worries too much about everyday things - like work, health, money, or family, even when there's no clear reason to worry. This worrying happens often and can be hard to control. People who struggle with GAD report they are 'always' worrying about something and their worries tend to shift from topic to topic.
- You notice (in some cases others may point this out) that you have been worrying a lot and this is happening most days and has been going on for several months.
- The worries keep coming and you can't stop them: once you start worrying, it's really hard to calm down or let the worries go.
- GAD affects how you feel and you can also notice unpleasant sensations in your body. You may find that you are experiencing something like:
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- Feeling restless, fidgety, or on edge
- Getting tired easily
- Trouble focusing, struggling to concentrate or your mind goes blank
- Feeling irritable
- Muscle tension
- Sleep problems (trouble falling or staying asleep, or poor sleep)
- If you are struggling with GAD you will notice it affects your daily life. Worrying especially if paired with physical symptoms makes it hard to work, study, be social, or take care of daily tasks.
Even when there's no clear danger, people with GAD often feel stuck in a cycle of constant worry. Here are the main things that keep anxiety going over time:
Discomfort with not knowing
Although it's very common to not like 'not knowing' people struggling with GAD often feel it impossible to tolerate not knowing what may happen. Often they end up worrying to try to feel more prepared or in control - this only leads to more worrying!
Example: What if I lose my job? becomes a loop of what ifs that never ends.
Worrying as a way to prevent an emotion.
Worries often stay in our heads as endless thoughts. This can be a way to avoid feeling scared or upset but it also stops you from working through the things that made you feel anxious in the first place.
Example: Instead of speaking to HR about the issues you have at work, you overthink all the things that could go wrong which will only make you more worried and afraid.
Believing worry is helpful
Some people believe that worrying keeps them safe, helps them prepare, or shows they care. This way of thinking makes worrying harder to stop: it's a huge positive endorsement to worrying even if worrying excessively never helps.
Example: If I worry about things happening I will be more prepared if something goes wrong? , If I don't worry a lot I will not study hard for my next exam , always worrying a lot about my kids means I am a good parent!
Seeing problems as major threats
People with GAD can often see everyday problems as too dangerous or overwhelming for them. Of course, the more we doubt ourselves the less we will be willing to confront an issue.
Example: What if I can't pay that bill? becomes a spiral of worst-case scenarios.
Doing things to feel safe (Safety Behaviours)
To calm anxiety, people often do things like checking, asking for reassurance, or over-preparing. These might feel good and even help short-term, but they also prevent you from learning that you can handle situations.
Example: Triple-checking the journey to make sure I know where I am going
Always looking for Danger
If someone struggles with GAD they may tend to notice and focus more on things that might go wrong rather than having a more balanced perspective. This makes the world feel more dangerous than it really is.
Example: If someone doesn't reply to a text, you immediately think they're angry at you or that something bad happened.
The Bottom Line
These habits may seem like they help, but they actually keep anxiety going.
Understanding them is the first step towards breaking the cycle-and learning new ways to handle worry.
A therapy like CBT can help people change these patterns.