The drugs are very effective to relieve symptoms of anxiety. Anti-anxiety medications may be used with antidepressants or anxiolytic effect (not all antidepressants have it).

The benzodiazepine anxiolytics should not be used for longer than one month and that over time tend to produce habituation and a need to increase the dose.

TAG Being a long-term disorder as recommended for psychopharmacological management of symptoms of anxiety is the use of anxiolytic effect associated with antidepressants.

The following antidepressants are approved by the FDA for the treatment of GAD: Escitalopram, Venlafaxine XR / LP, duloxetine and paroxetine. Antidepressants, Anxiolytics unlike benzodiazepines, does not produce habituation (tolerance), therefore there is no risk of generating a drug addiction.

Hence, it is preferable to use in long-term treatment of anxiety. On the other hand the quality of sleep caused by sedative antidepressants is much higher than that of benzodiazepine anxiolytics, as they generate a deep and restful sleep.

There are now increasingly available drugs for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. So that if a drug does not give the expected result, there are usually others that can be used. Moreover, they are discovering new drugs for the treatment of anxiety symptoms, as is the case of pregabalin.

Research has also shown that behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy are effective for the treatment of GAD. Also useful are Relaxation Techniques and Bio-Feedback (Biofeedback) to control the mental and muscular tension.

There are considerable cultural variations on the expression of anxiety (eg, in some cultures express anxiety through somatic symptoms predominate, and in others through cognitive symptoms).

It is important to take into account the cultural context when assessing the excessiveness of some concern.

In children and adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety and worry often refer to the performance or competence at school or sports, even when these individuals are not evaluated by others. Sometimes timeliness is the issue that concerns focused excessive.

Other times, catastrophic events such as earthquakes or nuclear war. Children with the disorder can appear overtly conforming, perfectionist, unsure of themselves and inclined to repeat their work by an excessive disparity to the view that the results do not reach perfection.

In pursuing the approval of others may show a characteristic jealousy, excessive need to ensure the quality of performance or other issues that motivate their concern. In general, the symptoms of GAD tend to decrease with age.

The disorder is slightly more common in females than in males when studying samples of centers (approximately 55-60% of diagnoses are made in women). In epidemiological studies of general population the sex ratio is two thirds for women.

The state of anxiety is almost constant, oscillating slightly during the course of the day and affecting sleep quality.

Anxiety is frequently associated with excessive worry (apprehensive expectation call). For example: fear that a close relative or the person who suffers from this disorder may have an accident, illness or death. The person finds it difficult to control this state of constant concern.

Anxiety and worry are associated with three or more of the following symptoms:

*Nervousness, restlessness or impatience
*Fatigue (tiredness) easy
*Difficulty concentrating or making the mind blank
*Irritability
*Muscle tension, tremor, headache (headache), leg movement and inability to relax
*Sleep disturbance: difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up not feeling rested well (restless sleep)
*Sweating, palpitations or tachycardia, gastrointestinal problems, dry mouth, dizziness, hyperventilation (increase in the number of breaths per minute).

The anxiety, worry or physical symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in family relations, social, occupational or other important areas of activity of the person.

Symptoms of anxiety in the GAD are consistent unlike what happens in Panic Disorder where anxiety-panic appears as paroxysmal taking the form of a panic attack. The panic usually lasts no more than 30 minutes but leaves the sufferer with some hesitation to make a new crisis. This “fear of fear” is called “anticipatory anxiety” and can be confused with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

It is also important to rule out anxiety symptoms are not due to the ingestion of any substance causes anxiety: caffeine, amphetamines or a medical condition (eg hyperthyroidism.). There are many causes for anxiety in a secondary, more information will be available in High Anxiety page. Depressive disorders also frequently associated with anxiety. It is very important to make a right “Differential Diagnosis” to arrive at an accurate diagnosis of what happens to those who are suffering a picture of anxiety. The main cause of treatment failure is the lack of diagnosis or misdiagnosis.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is much more than what a normal person experiences anxiety in their daily lives. They are chronic worry and tension even when nothing seems to provoke. Having suffered from this disorder means always anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family or work. However, sometimes the root of the worry is hard to locate. Simply thinking about the day ahead can cause anxiety.