People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder will know that excessive worry and negative thoughts creep into their mind, raising anxiety level and fear uncontrollably, just as soon as the daily routine allows 'space' inside their mind for those debilitating thought processes to start gnawing away.
Those with GAD do not usually experience quality time, relaxation, peace and tranquility. Just as soon as they try and switch off to enjoy some calm and relax, the negative thinking, fear and worry manifests itself, generally leading to abandonment of taking time out and finding something to occupy themselves.
GAD sufferers are usually people that are always on the go. They are usually driven, high-octane individuals. A common symptom of GAD is to suffer from stiffness in the neck and shoulders as a result of maintaining a constant state of tension in the body, in preparation for flight or fight response.
Another common trait of someone with GAD is substance abuse. In my case, I would use alcohol to help me relax after work. Of course drinking too much creates a vicious cycle where the alcohol used to relax and release stress, creates depression and enforces the loss of drive and interest in 'doing things' that were once a routine and enjoyable part of pre-GAD life.
To break the cycle using self-help requires determination, support and assistance from others, whether it is family, friends or colleagues. However, the illness is difficult for people that have not experienced the problem to understand. It is hard enough for those with the illness to understand, never mind anyone else!
A useful technique to help fight the illness is to learn how to relax. Self-hypnosis is a good tool to use and has certainly helped me. I set aside twenty minutes at the end of each day when I go to bed and use self-hypnosis recordings on my ipod. The recordings help me to relax and very often I fall asleep before the session has finished. I always wake at the end as the hypnotist counts out of the deep relaxation, but it is not long at all before I am back fast asleep.
I have noticed that my mind has become burdened to a lesser extent by needless worry and anxiety, since starting to use the recordings. Deep relaxation has allowed me the opportunity to start exercising more and this has helped me feel better about myself, reinforcing positivity.
The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Network provides support, resource and social network for people with GAD. The site is there for people to discuss with other GAD sufferers how they are dealing with the problem. One of the major benefits of using the site is that users can post blog or articles that others can use to develop their own self-help strategy to overcome GAD.
As Confusius said, "every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
To help start on the road to overcoming GAD, learning to relax is a good place to start.
About this Author
Paul A Lewis is an ex-pat living and working in the middle east. He is a senior manager working in the environmental sector.
He has suffered with Generalised Anxiety Disorder for more years than he cares to remember, but has only recently discovered he has the problem.
Paul welcomes anyone suffering with GAD to share their experiences of the illness and hopefully to improve with support from each other.
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