Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by frequent, persistent worry about a variety of things wherein the worry is out of proportion with reality or exaggerated in some way. GAD includes the mental experience of worry as well as the physical experience of anxiety symptoms. This mental experience typically involves overthinking, misappraising danger or risk, and predicting worst-case outcomes. The physical experience that often accompanies GAD includes difficulty concentrating, problems with sleep, being easily startled, and irritability. GAD can co-occur with other more acute anxiety disorders.