The causes of generalized anxiety disorder remain the same as in the time of our forefathers, but because there are more things to deal with today than there were several decades ago, there have been more reported cases of generalized anxiety disorder.

Of course, the exact cause of this condition still cannot be accurately pinpointed, however, there are some factors that contribute to generalized anxiety disorder. These factors are environmental stress, genetics, and brain chemistry.

Of these three factors, the most changed over the years is environmental stress. This can cover a whole range of situations and conditions from death, divorce, abuse, trauma, changes in environment, and excessive negative interactions with adults and peers.

For instance, when a family moves to another state, there is a tremendous amount of changes they will have to face. A new neighborhood, school, church, city laws and ordinances are just some of the environmental chaos waiting for them to adjust to, and many times, the need to adjust is immediate and real with very little allowance.

If a child experiences abuse while growing up – whether physical or verbal, this experience will haunt him for many years until he gets some form of counseling and treatment. What’s more, this kind of trauma and abuse can be passed on from generation to generation. There is a tendency to repeat what one has experienced when he grows up and has his own family.

The other cause for generalized anxiety disorder is genetics. Research has shown that this kind of condition can be passed on. The role of genetics has not been confirmed but the indications are very strong, and there are many cases of one child in a family exhibiting the same symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder as the parent or grandparent has. This is one of the reasons why intermarriage among family like cousins marrying cousins are strongly discouraged. It is also one of the reasons for blood testing before marriage in some countries.

The last cause for generalized anxiety disorder is brain chemistry. Brain chemistry will be a contributing factor to generalized anxiety disorder if there are unusual fluctuations in the hormonal levels or imbalances in the neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters is the part of the brain that allows the brain cells to communicate with each other.

The causes of generalized anxiety disorder gets even more complicated if it is a combination of these three factors. There are many indications that show that generalized anxiety disorder is caused by environment and brain chemistry, or brain chemistry and genetics, or all three. This is what makes it sometimes difficult to diagnose and also the reason why doctors demand to have the family medical history to help them when there is a suspicion of some kind of behavioral disorder.

Before you start assuming anything, know that there are other reasons for your feelings. Generalized anxiety disorder can develop, and there is no way you can prevent it.

There is no medicine, food, or treatment that can stop generalized anxiety disorder from happening to you. You just need to know if you have it by going to the doctor. Similarly, if there is no prevention, there is also no known established cure.

What you can do is minimize its effects by considering the different treatment methods available. Some have been around for generations, like the Cognitive Behavioral Treatment, or the medicines for depression or anxiety. Others are more modern in approach with a no-medicine treatment method like yoga, relaxation and breathing exercises.

You can also prevent generalized anxiety disorder from reaching critical levels by watching your diet. Avoid food and drinks that can cause you to get excited and experience a sugar or caffeine rush. If you can handle a bland diet, without soda, too much sugar and salt, less fast foods, and alcohol, that would help in minimizing the anxiety attacks.

Preventing frequent generalized anxiety disorder attacks can also be managed by staying away from volatile situations, and high flying activities. Limit your social life to quiet dinner parties, and less of the rowdy, loud night club bars and discos.

If you enjoy being around people, this should not pose as a problem. However, you should choose your friends based on their acceptance of your condition, as well as tolerance if you choose not to join any of their more boisterous events. Of course, that does not mean you should not join any – you should allow yourself to experience these once in a while, taking care to drinks your medicine properly at least a few days before the event, and on the event itself.

Proper care and attention is still the best way to handle generalized anxiety disorder. It may seem like the end of the world because some people will shun you due to your anxiety attacks, but then why would you want to be around people who judge you for something you have no control over?

Learn to depend on some vital people in your life – family members, your therapist, and your doctor. These people will be your lifeline especially when you start to feel an anxiety attack coming on.

Since preventing a generalized anxiety disorder from victimizing you is not possible, you can take the next step and minimize its effects. It does not have to control your life if you do not let it. Neither should you be crippled with its effects. There are ways of managing this disorder.  You need to make an effort to find the one that will best suit your lifestyle and degree of your generalized anxiety disorder.

However, assuming that the diagnosis has been made, most doctors will prescribe tranquilizers, anti anxiety drugs, or beta blockers  to calm down a person with generalized anxiety disorder. The most common group of tranquilizers that doctors and behavioral experts prescribe are known as Benzodiazepines.

Other medications are antidepressants like Paxil, Elavil, Prozac, and Lexapro. These are serotonin inhibitors that are preferred by some doctors. There are many branded and generic forms of this prescribed medicine, and they are very easy to find in any pharmacy.

It must be noted that medicines are not going to work instantly. Some may require several weeks before any improvement is seen in the behavior and mannerism of the person with generalizes anxiety disorder.

As these are also medication for people suffering from depression, it can be addicting. This is one reason why some people would rather not take these drugs, or parents prefer not to give them to their children. Generalized anxiety disorder can start at a young age, and depending on the response and actions of the parent or guardian, can either balloon to a more serious degree or condition. On the other hand, if given the proper attention by the parents, this condition need not get worse, and methods to keep it under control can be managed.
Another treatment used aside from medication and drugs is psychotherapy. Under this form of treatment, one of the most talked about is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This form of behavioral therapy tries to work with the patient in addressing stress factors and how they relate to them when it starts to bother them. Another kind of treatment under psychotherapy is psycho-dynamic oriented therapy. These kinds of psychotherapy try to deal with helping the person with generalized anxiety disorder in dealing with the reasons for the anxiety, and helping them find ways to solve their problems without succumbing to anxiety attacks.

Some people have decided to promote hypnosis and yoga as a way of treating generalized anxiety disorder. Finding the right treatment is a matter of personal choice. If you are an advocate of all-natural treatments, then you would rather shun the medicines and their possible side effects, and select a treatment method that does not involve any form of medicines.

The much respected Anxiety Disorders Association of America produced a guideline in 2004 on how to diagnose and manage patients with generalized anxiety disorder. They also stressed the need to consider each and every complaint a person may want to discuss as it may be part of an even greater problem. After all, generalized anxiety disorder is a combination of several symptoms, and is generally compounded with excessive mood swings. 

Substance abuse should also not be seen merely as a drug or alcohol problem, but as an underlying reason for a behavioral problem like generalized anxiety disorder.

Of course being concerned or fearful is not an abnormal feeling. Everyone goes through these in different degrees. However, it usually has a reason or cause for the anxiety, and it does not happen on a regular or daily basis for an extended period of time.

When a person experiences an anxiety attack due to generalized anxiety disorder, he starts to have rapid heart beats, starts to breath heavily, and can become very irritable and difficult to talk to.

Just reading these symptoms can actually confuse anyone because we all have done this at one point or another. This will also explain why people with generalized anxiety disorder can go through life undetected and untreated. They just get labeled as temperamental, moody, or difficult.

Studies show that more women tend to suffer from this condition than men. Chronic anxiety attacks that have no known cause can last for more than just a few minutes. In some extreme cases, an attack can continue for weeks or months. This is when the strain and pressure on the people around can really take its toll.

For many years, generalized anxiety disorder was considered mental cases with people suffering from this condition as being brought to mental hospitals for treatment. Many times, they were abandoned here by their families, and treatment was very harsh and did not really address the problem.

Studies on generalized anxiety disorder have since made major inroads, and there is now a better and more comprehensive understanding of the condition.

How can you tell if a person has generalized anxiety disorder? Aside from the signs mentioned above, there is a major emphasis on negativity – that things will always go wrong, and they are doomed to some form of crisis or catastrophe.  In addition, the person suffering from generalized anxiety disorder will not be able to handle everyday chores or work because he or she is consumed with worry, and unable to say what exactly she is worried about.

The problem with generalized anxiety disorder is that it is rather difficult to diagnose. Doctors may also not be able to distinguish this kind of disorder immediately. This is because it has to continue over a period of half a year before it can be conclusively declared as chronic anxiety attacks or generalized anxiety disorder.

 It also is aggravated by the fact that the person suffering from generalized anxiety disorder knows that she is worried about something she does not need to worry about, and yet she cannot help herself.

Also, the anxiety attacks may happen for several months, then get better and no incidents will happen for another couple of months. Thus, generalized anxiety disorder can improve, and then worsen. One common factor in all anxiety attacks that occur for no valid reason is stress – whether it is imagined or real.

For instance, an office worker with generalized anxiety disorder will start to imagine all sorts of horrible scenarios that will make her ineffectual at work. Not only will she be unable to follow instructions, she will not even be able to concentrate. She is better off not going to work at all because she will end up disrupting the entire office with what would seem like antics to her office mates. It will also wreck her reputation and name with her immediate boss and fellow workers.

The symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder is varied and easily mistaken for other conditions and illnesses. This is why an expert in generalized anxiety disorder or and other form of disorder is needed to properly diagnose this condition. Such an expert would be a psychiatrist, psychologist, or an experienced behavioral therapist.

Some of the more common symptoms are inability to relax, concentrate, and cease from worrying. A person with generalized anxiety disorder will also suffer from insomnia and a tendency to be jumpy.

As far as physical signs, you should watch out for excessive sweating for no apparent reason, trembling and shaking, muscle tension, cramps, headaches, nausea difficulty in swallowing, irritability, fatigue, hot flashes, and frequent trips to the bathroom.

If you look at these physical symptoms, you will notice that these are common, everyday signs that anyone can experience – even on a daily basis. Stress can do that, and most adults and teenagers suffer from stress on a daily basis. So, what separates an ordinary stress attack from a generalized anxiety disorder?

First, you cannot isolate one symptom and declare it as a generalized anxiety disorder. For instance, having frequent headaches does not mean you have this condition. It probably means you suffer from migraine, have eye problems, or you are coming down with the flu.

Generalized anxiety disorder has to have at least three symptoms affecting the person at the same time.

Second, the anxiety attacks must be recurring frequently but unscheduled over a period of at least six months.

Third, a doctor must be the one, and the only one who can say for sure whether or not it is indeed generalized anxiety disorder. Self analysis and self diagnosis is never going to be accurate, especially for cases like these.

A doctor can effectively rule out other conditions like post traumatic stress syndrome, caffeine overload, substance abuse, or any other physical condition. Generally, this condition is very misleading, and unless a person comes forward complaining about unusual behavior, then that person could continue living her life without getting any treatment whatsoever. The sad part is that there are modern scientific methods that can be used to control these chronic anxiety attacks.