Generalized Anxiety Disorder, more commonly known as GAD, over-stimulates the sympathetic nervous system which results in “excessive, exaggerated anxiety and [constant] worry about everyday life events for no obvious reason,” (WebMD). It is diagnosed in individuals at any age but is especially common among children and adolescents.
Individuals diagnosed with GAD may feel physically fatigued. This is because when our “fight or flight response is trigger[ed, that means that our] body [is] physically ready to respond at any moment,” (K Health). This takes a lot of energy out of the body which causes physical fatigue. Additionally, these are other common symptoms one may experience according to the National Institute of Mental Health:
Trouble sleeping
Difficulty controlling feelings of worry
Feeling restless
Having headaches
One way we could help an individual with GAD is by psychotherapy. Psychotherapy focuses on helping the “patients learn to understand how their thoughts contribute to their anxiety symptoms,” (American Psychological Association). The goal of this type of cognitive therapy is for the individual to change how they think about certain situations to lessen their anxiety, or in general terms, create a more optimistic environment.
Another way an individual could recover is through medications. A psychiatrist may provide the patient with antidepressants to help with anxiety. This is because “by blocking re-uptake, the re-absorbtion of serotonin, more serotonin [becomes] available to pass further messages between nearby nerve cells,” (NHS).
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