We all feel anxious and worried at times. People with generalized anxiety disorder worry excessively and find it difficult to control their anxiety. Anxiety and worry cause significant distress and can interfere with work or school performance, health, and social relationships.
Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder may experience:
- Restlessness
- Edginess
- Fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Muscle tension or aches
- Sleep disturbance
Treatment
At the heart of the treatment for GAD is acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). You have probably tried a variety of strategies to stop your thoughts that induce anxiety. You will learn that much of what you do to reduce anxiety actually increases it. With acceptance and commitment therapy, you can learn to stop your thought-control efforts and spend your energy doing what is important to you. We will work on your relationship with your worry thoughts, not the thoughts themselves. With practice, you can learn to accept uncertainty and stay present for what is important to you.
Helpful Treatment Augmentations
Family therapy is often useful so that your family members have a plan to support you in ways that will help you reach your goals. We will address problematic behaviors that affect your relationships and interfere with your progress. Together, we will find alternative strategies that can help you.
Compassion focused therapy is useful for clients who feel guilty, are self-critical and lack self-compassion.
Medication can be a helpful addition to your therapy. If you are not currently taking medication for your anxiety, and we determine that it may be useful, a referral to a physician will be provided.