Generalized Anxiety Disorder & CBT
When someone is diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, that means they’ve experienced a significant amount of worry more days than not for six months or longer. Their worries are hard to control. They can feel restless and irritable, tire easily, have trouble concentrating, experience muscle tension, and struggle with sleep.
With any anxiety disorder, it is important to remember that anxiety has important adaptive functions. Anxiety can tell us when a threat is coming, it can signal us to mobilize resources, and it can help us prepare for future events. Anxiety keeps us safe.
But intense persistent anxiety, as in Generalized Anxiety Disorder, can be problematic. It can cause us to pay more attention than necessary to threats. It can also cause us to see neutral information as negative or threatening. In addition, it can lead us to forget the tangible or emotional resources we have, telling us that we can’t cope with the triggering event.
According to the Harvard-Brown Anxiety research program, 40% of those diagnosed with GAD are diagnosed with an additional mental health disorder as well. Researchers are following people diagnosed with GAD over 22 years. They have found there is a more severe course of GAD for those with less money and poorer relationships, and who lack a romantic partner. They’ve also discovered that people also experience more severe symptoms if their anxiety started earlier in their lives. However, the good news is that they’ve also found GAD is treatable.
Usually, the cycle of anxiety begins with a triggering event, which the anxiety sufferer immediately views in a negative light. The individual will begin worrying about that triggering situation. They may believe that their worries will help prevent or solve the problem they are worried about. The anxiety reaction may also trigger another set of deeper beliefs, called “core beliefs.” These are strongly rooted beliefs about oneself that tend to fall into three broad categories: a belief that you are incompetent, unlovable, or unsafe.
Here is an example: A person we are attracted to cancels our date at the last minute, saying that their cat died. Someone who suffers with Generalized Anxiety Disorder may immediately have an Automatic Negative Thought: “this person is just making an excuse and doesn’t want to go out with me.” Then a core belief (a deeper and more enduring belief across situations) is activated: “No one will want to date me.” Left unchecked, this experience and these beliefs could cause them to withdraw from the person who canceled the date or even from dating all together.
Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder is effective. Cognitive Therapy uses acceptance of emotions, mindfulness, and logical reasoning to teach the individual to think differently. The individual learns to let go of limiting and anxiety supporting thoughts. They learn to view the world with more optimism and awareness of their ability to cope. In the example above, a CBT therapist might help the person to look at the thought “they don’t want to go out with me” and gently question it. The therapist and client would consider if there is any other evidence that the potential dating partner didn’t want to see them or if this thought may fit into a category of “Unhelpful Thinking Styles.” They might work together to determine if this thought is a Productive or Unproductive Worry or use a thought record to change the client’s perspective.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a front-line, evidence-based therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It has provided effective help to people suffering with GAD for many years.
If you think that you or a loved one may suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, you or they can take the Beck Anxiety Inventory or contact a therapist who understands Generalized Anxiety Disorder and is skilled in CBT.