According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (or GAD) afflicts approximately 6.8 million adults (3.1 percent) in the United States each year. The diagnostic criteria include chronic, excessive worry and an inability to stop worrying once it has started for at least six months. This worry must occur more days than not. GAD may also present with agitation, irritability, restlessness, fatigue and muscle tension. The primary diagnostic feature of GAD is worry about a number of different issues, compared to other anxiety disorders that focus on a specific idea or situation.
GAD versus Panic Disorder
Panic disorder manifests as the repeated occurrence of panic attacks that occur out of the blue, in situations in which the individual does not expect them to occur at all. Panic attacks often present with symptoms such as racing heart, sweating, hyperventilating and agitation. Severe episodes of GAD can sometimes resemble a panic attack. An individual with GAD may feel extremely agitated, restless, and become hyper-aware of physiological reactivity.
However, while the individual with panic disorder usually interprets the symptoms as catastrophic, perhaps indicating the occurrence of a heart attack or mental breakdown, a person with GAD seldom has physical symptoms this severe. In addition, while the individual with panic disorder worries primarily about having another panic attack in the future, the individual with GAD experiences worry about a variety of issues in his life.
GAD versus Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can manifest itself as excessive, intrusive, and repetitive thoughts that don't make sense. Compulsive behaviors may also occur, in which a person feels an overwhelming need to perform certain acts repetitively, such as washing his hands or checking to make sure he's done something correctly (such as locking a door or turning off the stove). These repetitive behaviors help the individual to relieve anxiety.
OCD can sometimes resemble GAD in that both conditions can be characterized by worries that are difficult to stop once they've begun. However, in OCD, these thoughts usually focus on just one or two ideas. An example might be the mother who worries that her son will get hit by a car walking home from school. She may not be able to banish that one thought from her mind unless she turns the light switch off and on a certain number of times. GAD worry thoughts, on the other hand, tend to encompass a number of different daily concerns, such as financial difficulties, an argument with a friend or an uncertain future.
GAD versus Social Phobia
Social phobia is characterized by an extreme anxiety about doing something in public for fear that it will provoke ridicule or criticism by others. Common manifestations include a fear of public speaking or a fear of attending social events, such as parties. Similar to GAD, the person may experience intense anxiety or worry when thinking about these situations. However, the two disorders differ because social phobia anxiety focuses solely on social situations, while in GAD the worries will include other life areas as well.
References
- National Institute of Mental Health: The Numbers Count - Mental Disorders in America
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders"; American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
- Behavenet: Clinical Capsule -- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Behavenet: Clinical Capsule -- Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia
- Behavenet: Clinical Capsule -- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
