WHAT IS CHRONIC WORRY, OR GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER (GAD)?

Everyone feels anxious sometimes, especially when one perceives that there is a threat to their of someone else’s welfare and safety. Those feelings are considered to be “rational” fears which are warnings of real threats and they prepare you to do something to eliminate the threat.

However,there are some people who experience chronic anxiety, where it is unrelated to any threat. They worry about everything, no matter how unreal the perceived threat seems to be. Those individuals are considered to have a Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). This type of anxiety does not warn you about anything specific, so there can be no planning ways to end the ‘threat.’  GAD causes significant distress and impairment in your daily life, because your thoughts are monopolized with constant anticipation of bad things that are inevitably going to happen to you or your loved ones. As a result, you are on edge most of your waking day, with no ideas as to how to free yourself from your worries.