Generalized Anxiety
December 28th, 2006 by Aaron
I’ve been reading about Generalized Anxiety Disorder (found through the Social Anxiety Institute’s newsletter) and seeing how I have trouble with this as well as social anxiety. I’m not sure how the two interact. They seem similar. And if I dug in a bit, I bet a lot of the general anxiety I go through can be traced back to the fear of what various (sometimes very specific) people would think of me if they knew of my numerous failings.
There are two main things in the descriptions of GAD that keyed me in: good days verses bad days and a worried, racing mind. Some days I’m fine, relatively relaxed and enjoying going about my business. Other days I’m a mess, worrying constantly, imaging all kinds of ways in which things might go wrong, and generally feeling like I’ve made such a mess of my life that I’ll never be truly happy.
I’m very familiar with the feeling of being unable to quiet my thoughts. The mind races, thinking, worrying, dwelling, unable to slow down. This hasn’t been as bad a problem in recent years, which I think might be attributable to meditation and the regular practice of relaxation. But it used to be very bad, especially in my early twenties. One of the main reasons I became a night owl while in college was that I had to wait until I was absolutely exhausted before I could go to sleep. Otherwise, my mind would whirl and hum and run scenarios and obsess on so many things that I’d lay awake for hours, tossing and turning.
Social anxiety feels like the stronger of the two in my life. It brings the physical symptoms and the dread. But I have also known anxiety as a constant background hum in so much of my life.
Does anyone have experience with dealing with the various types of anxieties? Any sense of how they tie in to each other? Which is best tackled first?
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4 Responses to “Generalized Anxiety”
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Francis wrote on 02/8/07 at 8:05 am :
Oh yes, I also have GAD. I am constantly feeling anxious.. and it escalates in social situations. I hate it.. I wonder what it is like to live without some form of anxiety? I wonder if it’s possible?
Aaron wrote on 02/8/07 at 7:15 pm :
Francis:
I’ve wondered the same thing myself. It certainly doesn’t feel possible. I know that much. Every now and then I have a moment of pure comfort, I’m not worried, I’m just enjoying some simple thing I’m doing, and I wonder if this is how people without anxiety get to feel all the time. And then I’m just terribly jealous.
Have you looked into GAD much? I’ve been concentrated on SAD and haven’t explored it much beyond the one site.
Ansela wrote on 02/9/07 at 11:53 am :
I definitely have GAD…and, in fact I think it’s a greater problem for me than the social aspect of it. I avoid TASKS. I am so anxious about doing things perfectly, or choosing the RIGHT activity at the RIGHT time or Taking TOO long to complete something that I am paralyzed. I wish I could find a site like this for people with this issue. But for me it is worse because it has destroyed me occupationally (at work I didn’t Avoid, but I was a nervous wreck and couldn’t concentrate. In college, I avoid, avoid, avoid!)…an adds to things I am ashamed to bring to the table Socially. If anyone has any suggestions, webpages, etc. I’d appreciate it.
Aaron wrote on 02/10/07 at 12:48 pm :
Ansela:
http://www.anxietynetwork.com/gahome.html is where I got the info I used for this post. It looks like they have decent links for exploring. I hope you can find something there that might help.
Perfectionism is a big problem for me. Tasks go uncompleted, or not even started, because I worry about not doing a good enough job. It’s why I’ve avoided taking on so many of the challenges I wish I could.