Secrets of Mind and Reality

Keeping a log of when generalized anxiety disorder symptoms occur can help resolve this problem

We all feel anxious about events every now and then. This is normal. It’s part of the fight or flight response. For example, you may feel anxious if you have a deadline to meet and you feel you’re falling behind. Anxiety may occur over worrying about finances.

However, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms are far more frequent and intense and can easily disrupt your daily life, to the point that you’re almost always a nervous wreck. Generalized anxiety disorder can have its roots in past traumatic experiences, or may arise due to a purely biological phenomenon. It’s been established that low levels of serotonin in the brain can be the cause of your generalized anxiety disorder symptoms. Other biological causes include transitions such as childbirth, menopause and health conditions that are age related. This condition may be difficult for your doctor to diagnose and is often associated with depression.

Let’s first take a quick look at the typical profile of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms and then see how you can help your doctor find the best solution for you. It should be noted that you may not have all of these symptoms and still have generalized anxiety disorder. Symptoms listed below are intended as a guideline.

Some of the most common symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder are excessive worrying, along with an inability to control worrisome thoughts. You may be consistently restless, temperamental and become easily fatigued. You may also suffer from frequent muscle spasms, tension or both. Quite often, you have difficulty in falling and staying asleep, with disrupted patterns of sleep. Another characteristic of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms is a persistent inability to focus or concentrate on the task at hand. Naturally, if you have several of these symptoms, they work together to cause your general state of anxiety to interfere with normal daily activities. If you have suffered these symptoms for a period of several months, you may well have generalized anxiety disorder.

Just as computers keep logs of system events in order to determine causes of malfunctions, keeping a log of events occurring when you experience such symptoms can be helpful in your doctor’s diagnosis, as well as the best treatment.

Begin by keeping a daily notebook. Write all of the generalized anxiety disorder symptoms listed above on the first page. On the subsequent pages, record what seemed to trigger each symptom. For example, if you were in a hurry to get to an appointment and – once you found your car keys, the car failed to start, you might experience heart palpitations and severe anxiety and react with anger, out of proportion to the situation. If you worried all day over that deadline at work or finances, you might well have trouble getting to sleep. If you had a spat with your spouse, you might react with a sudden sense of fatigue. Perhaps you’re going through menopause and hot flashes are driving you crazy. You find you can’t concentrate on what you’re doing at the time. Don’t be surprised if some of the trigger events seem somewhat silly, making you feel there can’t be any relationship between the trigger and the symptom.

If you keep your log for just a couple of weeks, you may find patterns, with some symptoms more prevalent than others. Make an appointment with your doctor and bring your log. Doctors are trained to recognize generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, but it’s the patterns that can help lead your doctor to a specific solution that works best for you.
Generalized anxiety disorder is far more common than you might have thought. It’s important to remember that you don’t have a mental illness and that there is help available to get you back on track and happy again!