What is Generalised Anxiety Disorder UK

Ever felt like a storm cloud following you even on a sunny day? This is the fact when you live with generalised anxiety disorder in the UK. GAD is one of the most common mental health conditions in the world. In this case, a person worries about various aspects of life, even when there is little or no reason to worry. This blog will explore the signs and GAD assessment. It also discusses the resources open for managing generalised anxiety disorder UK. We will make sure you have all the details you need.

Understanding generalised anxiety disorder in the UK

Generalised anxiety disorder refers to a mental health disorder in which you feel anxious and worried at all times. This feeling can overwhelm you since the worry is unreasonable. GAD has been increasing for the past few years since it has been observed in 29.9% of men and 37.1% of women for the year 2022-2023. Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK is diagnosed in 6 out of 100 people every week. This condition is hard to control, and it can affect your life significantly. Here is how it can affect your life:

According to Borkovec et al.

“Worry functions as a cognitive avoidance response to perceived internal and external threats and may reduce some aspects of emotional reactivity to otherwise unavoidable negative events”

Borkovec et al. (2004)

1. Cognitive issues:

Generalised Anxiety disorder in the UK can make it hard for you to focus and concentrate. It can also cause issues with daily tasks such as shopping. These challenges reflect in your social and work life. They also impact your well-being.

2. Sleep issues:

You can struggle with falling asleep. You may also experience difficulties staying asleep. This can lead to fatigue during the daytime. It can affect your productivity at the workplace. It can also deteriorate your physical health.

3. Social and emotional issues:

Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK can make it hard for you to interact with anyone. You may also avoid social situations altogether.  It leads to feelings of isolation.

4. Interpersonal issues

The constant state of worry can interfere with your relationships. You may become anxious about your loved ones, which can cause tension. You may also seek assurances that lead to your friends and family becoming overwhelmed.

Is General Anxiety Disorder a Disability?

People asked this most common question, is gad any illness? The response to this depends upon the stress level. In the UK, this is considered an illness under the Equality act 2010 due to its strong and long-term effect on a person. This will make them allowed for fair adjustments at work or school to ease their needs.

Read in detail about mental health equality act 2010.

Difference between being anxious and generalised anxiety disorder in the UK

People confuse normal worry with GAD. Even GAD and anxiety are not the same conditions. Here are some of the differences between the two:

Causes of generalised anxiety disorder in the UK

Studies have shown that some specific things can trigger generalised anxiety disorder in the UK. The causes can be innate or external, including:

1. Genetics:

Evidence indicates that GAD may have a genetic component, as it typically runs in families. The genetic inheritance is about 30%. If your parents have it, you have a 2-6-times higher risk of getting it. A personality trait called neuroticism is tied closely to GAD in genetics. GAD also has shared genetic factors with the following:

• Depression
• Panic disorder
• Social anxiety
• Burnout
• PTSD

Get useful insights on PTSD treatment. 

Genes and Brain Function

The hippocampus and the amygdala are two regions that are tied to emotion and threat response. Specific genes affect their function. These gene variants are associated with increased anxiety and worry. They also increase anxiety by affecting these parts. Others affect the hormones that control the mood.

Genes and environment interaction

Life events can interact with genetic vulnerability to cause generalised anxiety disorder in the UK. For instance, childhood trauma can combine with genes to cause GAD. Environmental adversity can also play a key role. For instance, if you face any disasters or low family warmth and you have a genetic factor, you are likely to get generalised anxiety disorder.

2. Brain Chemistry:

Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK is associated with a large and overactive amygdala. This part of the brain controls fear. This effect is especially visible in children. GAD is also linked with more grey matter in the upper temporal part of the brain. This is the part where we feel negative emotions.

Usually, these activities are compensated by the prefrontal cortex. It calms them down. In GAD, this part of the brain does not work well. The anxiety, thus, keeps on going. These changes are more prominent if the anxiety is more severe.

Why does this happen

This happens because of the imbalance in brain chemicals. GABA, for instance, is a calming chemical. In generalised anxiety disorder in the UK, it does not work properly. Other chemicals, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, become too active. This makes the anxiety worse.

3. Environmental factors:

Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK can be developed or worsened by stressful life events. It can often combine with other factors, such as brain chemistry or genetics. Some triggers from environmental factors can be as follows:

• Trauma or abuse
• Losing a loved one
• Parents divorcing
• Moving to a new school or job

These experiences can alter your way of reacting to threats. You feel threatened even when there is no danger. Over time, this can lead to constant worrying and tension and eventually GAD. Some substances can make GAD worse, for instance:

• Caffeine
• Nicotine
• Alcohol
• Withdrawal from these substances

Case study

This case is of a man named William, who was 38 years old at the time. He worked as a bank manager, and his wife was a lawyer. Together, they had a 9-year-old daughter. He was reported to be very close to his family. William had chronic worries in his home and work life. He had health anxiety as well. He spent hours worrying about his daughter’s well-being.

William also experienced panic attacks. The trigger for these attacks was work-related stress. William was raised in a loving home, even though it was chaotic. He had to take care of his siblings early on in his life, and he worried for the well-being of his family.

William meets the criteria for GAD. His severity score was 6/8 based on the following:

• Nature of his worries
• Life impairment
• Physical symptoms

How to Diagnose GAD?

GAD is diagnosed by generalised anxiety specialists. These specialists can be psychiatrists, psychologists, or, in some cases, your GP.  They rule out any other conditions that can be causing your symptoms. After that, they use the following tests to assess you for GAD:

1. Medical Evaluation:

This is the first step. A mental health professional conducts a thorough exam to rule out any other condition. For instance, any medical condition or substance abuse can cause anxiety. They can conduct the following:

• Physical exam
• Blood tests
• Urine tests
• Thyroid Function Tests
• ECG or EKG
• Vitamin and Mineral Tests

2. Assessment of Symptoms

This is the next step. The clinician asks you questions about your condition. Make sure you talk to them about every detail. You may find some part of it embarrassing, but your mental health professional must know the entire picture. After listening to you, they make notes of the following:

• Your symptoms
• Their frequency
• Impact on daily life

3. Use of diagnostic criteria

Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK is diagnosed by the criteria defined by the DSM-5. Here are the conditions for diagnosing it:

• Constant worry

You remain in a constant state of worry or anxiousness on most days. This should be for at least 6 months. Moreover, it should be about different parts of life.

• Hard to control

Your worry cannot be controlled.

• Physical and mental symptoms

You must have at least three of the following symptoms along with constant worry. These symptoms should last for at least 6 months.

• • Feeling restless or on edge
  • Getting tired easily
  • Trouble focusing, or your mind goes blank
  • Feeling irritable
  • Tense or tight muscles
  • Trouble sleeping

• Generalised worry

The anxiety should not be about one aspect, such as social anxiety, panic attacks, or any other illness. It should also not match the prognosis of any other mental health issue.

• Life impact

Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK should be impacting your life significantly. It should have an effect on your home, work, and social life.

• No medical or drug causes

There should be no other reasons for the symptoms. You should not be taking a drug or medicine with similar side effects. There should also be no medical conditions like an overactive thyroid that can lead to similar symptoms.

4. GAD anxiety assessment

GAD assessments are conducted by the clinicians. They identify and assess how severe your symptoms are. This aids in diagnosing and treating GAD. Here are the key tools used for GAD:

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale

This is a widely used screening tool for GAD. It is brief and easy to administer. In this test, the DSM-IV criteria are used to evaluate how severe your symptoms are. It asks you to rate your symptoms, and then there are points for severity. If the score is greater than 10, you are more likely to have GAD. This test takes one to two minutes.

• Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale

This is a detailed questionnaire. It is useful in diagnosing different types of anxiety disorders, along with GAD. It is also used to track progress or improvement over time. HAM-A includes 14 questions. You are asked to rank both emotional and physical symptoms in these questions. The range of the scale is 0 to 4. 0 means you don’t have that symptom. 4 means the symptoms are severe. This test takes longer.

• Generalised Anxiety Disorder 2-item Scale

This is also a screening tool. It has only two questions and can be taken very quickly. It asks you how frequently you have felt nervous in the past 2 weeks. The second query is if you have succeeded in stopping it. The severity is scored from 0 to 3, with 3 denoting almost daily and 0 denoting hardly at all. A score over 3 indicates you should get checked for GAD.

Learn more about Mental health assessments UK.

Learn more: What is CBT?

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

This method of therapy is somewhat more recent. It focuses on accepting thoughts rather than fixing them. ACT teaches you not to judge your anxious thoughts. It also helps you prevent struggling with it. It promotes the idea that if you try to get rid of anxiety, it will be worse. It urges you to take meaningful action even with anxiety. This means taking the right step in the moment, like pursuing a goal, being a good parent, etc.. Thus, it is based on the following:

• Mindfulness
• Values-based living

• Psychodynamic Therapy

This therapy is deeper and long-term. It explores how your past experiences and unconscious thoughts affect how you behave. Your therapist explores your early life experiences with you. In particular, they focus on your relationship with your early caregiver. They assist you in spotting your emotional patterns that even you are not aware of. They identify the reason you feel anxious in certain situations.

Explore more: What is Psychodynamic Therapy in the UK?

2. Pharmacotherapy

Sometimes, patients don’t respond to talk therapies. Medicines have to be used in this case. If someone has severe symptoms from the beginning, they can be prescribed both therapy and medicines. Here are the medicines that can be helpful:

• Antidepressants:

They are often prescribed because their efficacy is 30% to 50%. These medicines may take weeks to show effect, but they are safe.

A study reported that 81% of the children felt improvement when they were given medication in addition to CBT. Common medications include:

• • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
  • Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
  • Anxiolytics
  • Tri-cyclic antidepressants

• Benzodiazepines

These medicines act instantly and help patients get better. If you are compliant and aware that your symptoms have a psychological basis, you may respond to them better. However, there is a concern about drug abuse. There is also a risk of dependence. So, if you have a history of drug abuse and alcoholism, you should not take them. Here are common examples:

• • Diazepam
  • Clonazepam

• Buspirone

These medicines are not addictive or sleep-inducing. They manage your mood and balance your hormones. Ensure their regular use to see them working. They are slower than benzodiazepines, but they are just as effective.

3. Lifestyle

Anxiety is greatly affected by your lifestyle. If you make changes in your lifestyle, it can be very helpful for less severe anxiety. Even for moderate and severe cases, lifestyle changes along with therapy and medication can be very useful. Here are some of the changes that can assist you in recovery:

• Exercise:

Exercise can greatly impact anxiety, according to a few studies. What exercising does is that it releases neurotransmitters. They improve your mood and thus lower your anxiety. Some of them also reduce pain and increase your happiness. For anxiety, mindful forms of exercise can assist. These include the following:

• • Yoga
  •  Tai chi
  •  Qigong

• Diet:

Nutrition plays a major role in the functioning of your brain. If your diet does not contain nutrients, your brain chemicals will imbalance.

Due to this imbalance, you’ll witness adverse effects on your sleep and stress levels. So, you should focus on getting proper nutrition. This will aid you in recovering from GAD. Some of the tips for this are:

• • Include all food groups in your diet
  • Support your brain-gut axis with probiotics.
  • Avoid Sugary Drinks
  • Watch Your Caffeine Intake

• Social Support

Having great social support is a protective factor for your entire mental health. Generalised anxiety disorder in the UK, in particular,  can worsen with social isolation. Thus, you should stay in touch with your family and friends for better social support. You can join any club or group of your interest. Volunteering is another option that only gives you a purpose, it also helps you connect. Here are the ways in which social support helps:

• • Reduces Loneliness
  • Provides Perspective
  • Releases Stress-Reducing Chemicals

How Concise Medico Can Help You?

Generalised anxiety disorder UK is challenging but we can manage this condition. The right support can help people lead fulfilling lives, including:

• Therapy
• Medicines
• Lifestyle changes

Remember, you’re not alone, and resources are open to help you overcome your stress. Take a GAD assessment to understand your symptoms better. Contact us to confirm your appointment.

If you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to seek help from experts such as Concise Medico