(GAD) Generalized Anxiety Disorder -Treatment, Remedies, Medications

(GAD) Generalized Anxiety Disorder : Treatment, Remedies and Medications

Generalized anxiety disorder is a mental sickness and illness that should never be ignored, it emerges out like normal symptoms that may be overlooked but if it is diagnosed at early stages, it can be treated and recovered as soon as possible with the best of medicines, therapies, and treatments. The more you self-analyze yourself, the better you can self-help yourself.

HOW GAD IS DIFFEDRENT FROM NORMAL STRESS OR WORRY?

Every person feels anxious in their daily normal routine life and stress is a major part of their life experience. They may be tensed or uncertain of how they will perform in a certain situation or an exam or any unexpected financial crisis, all these worries or fears are far more different than a generalized anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive, intrusive, persistent, and disruptive worry, stress, or tension.

The worry and anxiety you feel in generalized anxiety disorder massively hinder your daily and social life, uncontrollable, stressful, and lasts for a long time, which may serve up to several months.

DIAGNOSIS OF GAD

The sign and symptoms of GAD may appear to be normal and common, but if they are prolonged, they should be diagnosed with an expert mental health doctor as he may do the following procedures to rightly diagnose GAD:

Perform a physical exam to look for the signs and symptoms of anxiety that might be interlinked to any other medical condition or illness.
Constructive question-answer sessions are inducted about your medical history.
Psychological questionnaires to help diagnose the anxiety disorder.
Uses the criteria listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) that is authorized by the American psychiatric association.

GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AND ALCOHOL

Alcohol and drugs have a deep and massive effect on your mental health, excessive use of drugs and alcohol not only deteriorates your physical health but makes you mentally unstable and traps you in your monsters of fears, depression, and anxiety, and ultimately to develop GAD.

Drinking alcohol may lessen your anxiety and depression but for the present moment but makes you feel more anxious and depressed afterward. Drugs can sometimes become an obstacle in your treatment plan or process as the combination of medicine and alcohol may prove to be highly fatal.

If you become an addict to drugs or alcohol, you should instantly look up to a doctor or you can find different support groups to help yourself out.

TREATMENT AND REMEDIES FOR GAD

People with GAD are treated based on the symptoms they face and bear, and to what extent these symptoms are affecting their daily life functions and routine. There are two main treatments for generalized anxiety disorder that are “PSYCHOTHERAPY AND MEDICATION” and a combination of both of these might treat your GAD faster but after appropriate trials conducted by your mental health physician, he suggests which treatment is best and suitable for you.

PHYSIOTHERAPY

Physiotherapy or psychological counseling involves working and treating your GAD with a mental health therapist, he aids by taking constructive sessions with you and lets you open yourself to blurt out your daily anxiety, depression, and fears. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the best and most effective treatment and remedy for GAD.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy consists of regular meetups with your physician or psychiatrist, the main goal of the therapy is to change your perspective, ideas, thinking, behaviors, and approach towards your worries and anxiety. The therapy helps you to learn and recognize your anxious and stressful thoughts, furthermore, the sessions help you in calming yourself

MEDICATIONS

For treating GAD doctors may prescribe some medicines, they will mostly plan out short or long-term medication treatment plans based on the severity of your symptoms, these medicines relieve you out of your physical pains of GAD such as muscle aches or stomach cramps. Different types of medicines are found to be effective against treating GAD, following is the medication list:

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI)
Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
Different serotonergic medicines
Benzodiazepines
Buspirone

ANTI-ANXIETY MEDICATIONS

These are short-term medicines that relieve you out from the physical symptoms of GAD such as muscle aches, stomach problems, or any other physical pain. Some common anti-anxiety medications are listed below:

Alprazolam (Xanax)
Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Lorazepam (Ativan)

These short-termed anti-anxiety medicines are never to be used for long periods as they can develop a high risk of dependency and abuse.

ANTI-DEPRESSANTS

These medicines include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), serotonin, and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), and these medicines are found to be the first-line best treatment and medication for GAD. These antidepressants may include medicines listed below:

Escitalopram (Lexapro)
Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
Venlafaxine (Effexor XR)
Paroxetine (Paxil and Paxeva)
Buspirone (Buspar)
Fluoxetine ( Prozac , sarafem)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
Desvenlafaxine ( Pristiq)

BENZODIAZEPINES

These anti-anxiety medications work fast and efficiently within 30 minutes to an hour, but the physical and psychological reliance develops after a few weeks of use. They are usually reserved for the most severe, paralyzing cases of anxiety.

SIDE EFFECTS OF MEDICINES

It may take a few weeks for the medicines to start functioning but these can cause dry mouth, nausea, diarrhea, and other adverse effects. There is a slight risk of increased thoughts of suicide in teens who take anti-depressants. So, it is advised to be in contact with your doctor and let him know if you feel any change physically or emotionally.

NATURAL AND HOME REMEDIES WITHOUT MEDICATION

Many people treat their anxiety disorders with the help of medication and therapies however you can manage and cope up with your disorder with help of natural, home remedies and by changing your lifestyle. Following are the natural remedies that you can acquire to cope up with generalized anxiety disorder and is the most effective treatment for GAD rather than therapies and medication:

Keep yourself physically active, make it your habit to exercise regularly as it is a fantastic stress reliever. it has the potential to enhance your mood and keep you healthy. Begin slowly and then progress by increasing the intensity of your activities.
Try taking as much rest as you can, make sleep your priority.
Acquire relaxing methods and techniques such as visualization, meditation, or yoga.
Eat a nutrient-rich and balanced diet, the healthier your body is the more positivity you can absorb
Avoid the use of drugs or alcohol as they may worsen anxiety
Smoking is injurious to physical and mental health, reduce and minimize the use of coffee as anxiety can be exacerbated by both nicotine and coffee.

VERDICT

Generalized anxiety disorder is halting among people as they become more stressed and worried. Neglecting mental health disorders is one of the major mistakes we do while taking care of ourselves, the more concerned you are about your mental health the more you can grow and achieve. GAD is an anxiety disorder that can easily be diagnosed by a psychiatrist or mental health physician, the more educated you are about these mental health disorders the more easily you can cope up with them. The best treatment for GAD is natural or home remedies by which you can rectify and reduce your anxiety, fears, and depression.