Anxiety Vs. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

In recent years, the online discourse around mental health concerns, like anxiety, has had some positive influences, such as reduced stigma. Several social media influencers and celebrities have revealed their own struggles with anxiety and other mental health conditions, which could be considered a net benefit. However, a distinction that often gets lost in this discussion is that there are several key differences between feeling anxious and having Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Most everyone feels anxious or has worries on occasion; however, some people experience this at a level that is atypical and is often described as excessive. The DSM-5 TR by the American Psychiatric Association notes a few key features of GAD. First, “the essential feature of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities” (APA, 2022, p. 251). Second, “the individual finds it difficult to control the worry and to keep worrisome thoughts from interfering with the task at hand” (APA, 2022, p. 251). This difficulty with controlling worry is one of the primary differences between “being anxious” and meeting diagnostic criteria for GAD (APA, 2022). Meaning, the anxiety is so severe that it can, at times, significantly impair the individual’s ability to function on a day-to-day basis.

Another key difference between worrying and GAD is that a person with GAD experiences worries that are in excess of or disproportionate to the event or situations causing the worry and interfere with everyday life (APA, 2022). An example of this might be someone worrying they will never succeed at baking a cake after failing to measure the flour correctly a few times. Or, they might have trouble leaving the house because they are convinced some disaster is imminent.
Additionally, a distinguishing feature of GAD is that the anxiety is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as restlessness, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, heart palpitations, and irritability (APA, 2022).

A potentially useful cognitive-behavioral exercise to help with regulating anxiety or GAD is evaluating your worries. Sokol & Fox (2019) recommend pausing and considering the following 3-5 questions:

1. What am I concerned about, and is it likely to happen or unlikely to happen?
2. If a particular problem occurred, what would be the worst, best, and most likely outcome?
3. If your concern is “likely” to happen, proceed to the next question; however, if it is not, remind yourself not to spend excessive energy on unlikely or minor issues
4. If this problem is likely to occur, what, if anything, can I do to solve it?
5. When addressing the problem, what are my options, and what are the upsides and downsides of these options? If there is nothing you can do, then accept that you have done all you can and move on with your day.

 
As always, I recommend reaching out for professional help if anxiety or other mental health conditions are seriously impacting your life.
 
Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). American Psychiatric Association.
Sokol, L. & Fox, M. (2019). The comprehensive clinician’s guide to cognitive behavioral therapy. PESI Publishing.

By Gabriel Macfee, LCP, LMLP

Gabriel believes firmly that therapy should promote growth in both the client and practitioner, so he is always focused on learning and working.