Anxiety

As I mentioned in my last post, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is constituted by excessive worry about a number of things, activities, or events, and interferes significantly with an ability to function in daily life.

While GAD may be interfering with your present daily living, it doesn’t have to; there are treatment options to reduce the anxiety you feel, such as medication, therapy, and behavior changes.

However, in order to receive the proper treatment for GAD, you need to talk to your doctor about your symptoms. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America offers a free self-test for GAD. Simply check, “yes,” or, “no,” next to each question on the test and print out your results. Take the printed results with you to your doctor’s office the next time you see him or her, so that you can discuss your symptoms together.

It is also a good idea to keep a sleep log. Write down what time you go to bed, what time you go to sleep, if you wake up during the night, how many times you wake up during the night, what time you wake up in the morning, and what time you get up in the morning. It is best if you could keep a log for at least two weeks, but a shorter log will also give your doctor some idea of the sleeping difficulties you experience.

Your doctor may do some tests to rule out other general medical conditions before he or she diagnoses you with GAD and offers you a treatment plan. Sometimes, anxiety can also occur with depression and substance use, so your doctor may need to treat any other existing mental health conditions as well.

In order to take the GAD self-test go here.