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1. Insightful talking

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What is GAD and how does it affect ants?

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FGNH FDC IBMDTIBC

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How does the ventromedial prefrontal cortex get overpowered?

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What's the most effective way to cope with GAD?

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What form of art is the most therapeutic?

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Do all types of art have a similar effect on managing anxiety?
nep@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au

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Is this disorder contagious?

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what is gad and how does it work?

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How do you get the disorder in the first place?

How do you stop the disorder?

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how does gad happen?

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I wonder what other ways causes anxiety?

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How did you come up with the central idea?

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What is a Ventromedial pre-frontal cortex?

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SAA0002@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au - Nuray
HOW0002@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au - Leona
WAN0030@alamandacollege.vic.edu.au - Emma

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If you have any wonderings please post them here.
Thank You!

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Anxiety and worrying all the time can make you feel insecure and in need of support which can cause problems in some relationships. Many people with Generalised Anxiety Disorder avoid a lot of situations because they don’t take advantage of opportunities because of  their worries.

If the anxiety is especially severe it can cause them not to be able to even do the simplest day to day activities.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder can also affect people's social health because the anxiety is very hard on their lives, causing problems in social relationships.

Furthermore, anxiety is linked to marital distress and a decrease in relationship satisfaction. Fear can also make it hard to spend time in social relationships, and to continue or deepen connections with others.

Although people with Generalised Anxiety Disorder may act a bit differently because they need active and ongoing care, most patients are able to live a normal life although they will express themselves in a way where they look paranoid and tense and worry excessively and they will not be able to be as romantic and have deep relationships.

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There are many different ways to cope with Generalised Anxiety Disorder such as, visualisation techniques, meditation and yoga are types of relaxation techniques that can help reduce and ease anxiety.

Healthy eating is also a part of reducing anxiety such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and fish.

Talking your worries out and building a strong support system of a few trustworthy friends can also help.

Something to avoid if you have an anxiety disorder is alcohol and recreational drugs such as tea, coffee, chocolate and soft drinks.

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People who struggle with Generalised Anxiety Disorder often find themselves struggling with low self-esteem. They may have poor confidence in themselves or think they are worthless. This can be a harmful symptom of GAD with long-lasting effects.

One  way to change your self-esteem is to actually examine the levels of love and hate you experience.

While we tend to focus on the negative, such as people who are rude to us or avoid us, we usually have more people that care for us that we easily overlook.

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Worrying can affect your working memory, causing you to forget important tasks or appointments. You may make more mistakes at work or have trouble doing everything you need to do at home. You might experience things such as:

1. Not remembering where you parked your car in a parking lot

2. Frequently losing things, like your keys or your phone

3. Repeating things in conversation because you can't remember if you already said something

4. Difficulty recalling directions or information someone gives you

5. Trouble remembering items you want to purchase in the store

6. Since Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a mental health disorder that produces fear and worry, it is characterised by excessive and unrealistic worry

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Truth to be told, therapy and general social interaction do show some benefits, and just speaking to family can be calming to people with GAD.Deep breathing is a very common soother for GAD.

Yoga and meditation are common and simple relaxation techniques that you don't have to do for very long to achieve some really impressive results.

Journaling is another great way to write down what you may be feeling (and it's popular among people that dont have GAD because they may have a lot of drama in their lives). It can help to see your feelings on paper to help figure out what you are feeling and why that is the case. This can also be called writing in a diary.

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Therapy for people with GAD may vary but some common therapies are:

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Therapy for people with GAD may vary but some common therapies are:

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Art is one of the more popular methods, probably because it is so soothing to so many people but I won't go into full detail about it because I have a question completely and truly dedicated towards the topic of anxiety relieving art.

Going to therapy helps by giving people affected by GAD the comforting feeling of having someone to talk to who is understanding and caring, but for some individuals that have GAD going outside to go to therapy is actually a challenging task, not because they are lazy, it's because it's a mental challenge for them.

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You can get GAD at any age and the symptoms change depending on your fears and worries

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The symptoms of GAD can vary between people but the most common symptoms are:

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The symptoms of GAD can vary between people but the most common symptoms are:

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Generalised Anxiety Disorder’s symptoms is different to everyone but these are the most common:

- Trouble falling or staying asleep

- Trembling (A neurological condition that makes shaking movements in a part of a body)

- Headaches

- Tense Muscles

- Twitching (A short or brief twitch in a muscle)

- Irritability (Feelings of frustration and anger usually over small matters)

- Sweating

- Hot Flashes (Sudden feelings of warmth most intense in the face neck and chest and a lot of sweating due to menopause)

- Shortness of breath

- Lightheadedness (feeling like your about to pass out)

- Nausea

- Urinating Often

- Lump in the throat

- Fatigue (overly tired with low energy)

- Poor concentration

- Being easily startled

- Unable to relax

- Everyone’s symptoms are different based on how severe or what you're most afraid about.

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Generalised Anxiety Disorder is also known as GAD. The official GAD symbol is a teal ribbon which signifies the awareness of GAD.

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People with Generalised Anxiety Disorder have lower neural activity in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.
The Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex is responsible for controlling the nerves in your body that makes you feel a specific emotion.
As said in https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/Generalised-anxiety-disorder brain chemistry could be a reason why GAD makes people feel worried all the time

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The normal worries of everyday life can usually be controlled or 'switched off'. Worrying can be constructive if it helps you to work out possible solutions to a problem. However, some people are troubled by excessive worry and that seems difficult to control. This type of excessive worrying is known as generalised anxiety disorder (GAD).

Worries associated with GAD are distressing, last a long time and may appear for no apparent reason. GAD is characterised by a feeling of apprehension and constant irrational worrying about potential threats to the person and their loved ones.

The main feature of GAD is excessive anxiety and worry, occurring more days than not for at least six months. Worries are often about a variety of minor issues and events that are unlikely to occur. Generally, the worries are future oriented -- about what might happen rather than what is happening. Even when there is no cause for alarm, a person with GAD might worry about health, finances, family issues, and work or study performance.

Generalised anxiety disorder affects about five per cent of the population and onset can be at an early age - one third of people with GAD experience onset in childhood or adolescence. GAD may occur following a stressful life event or a period of high . It is more likely to develop if a person is predisposed to high anxiety due to a combination of genetic factors and environmental influences.

Generalised anxiety disorder is often chronic (ongoing), but may have only a moderate impact on a person's ability to function in daily life and so can often remain undetected and undiagnosed. There are various self-help strategies you can use to reduce your tendency to worry. You can also seek professional treatment.

Symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder

People with generalised anxiety disorder experience several mental, emotional and physical symptoms, including:

excessive and unreasonable worry over events or activities, such as work, school or health

excessive worry about their capacity and confidence to deal with situations

inability to control or stop their worrying

feelings of apprehension

muscle tension

restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge

being easily fatigued

tension headaches

problems with concentration or having their mind go blank

irritability

shallow, uneven breathing

increase in heart rate and blood pressure

sweating

feeling nauseous or sick

trembling and shaking

sleep disturbance (such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless unsatisfying sleep).

Causes of generalised anxiety disorder

Biological, psychological, social and cultural factors all appear to influence the development of GAD. The contributing factors may include:

personality - research suggests that people who were inhibited or reserved as children may be more likely to develop GAD as adults. Personality traits such as emotional sensitivity and shyness also make worrying more likely

learned behaviour - our habitual ways of thinking are learned over many years and are influenced by a range of environmental, social and family influences. A tendency to be preoccupied with imaginary worries can train our mind, over time, to habitually worry

family - anxiety (as a trait) may be inherited and the family environment (including the role models provided by parents) may influence the development of GAD

brain chemistry - some research indicates that anxiety is associated with altered brain chemistry. However, it is unclear whether anxiety causes the physical changes or whether the physical changes cause the anxiety.

Self-help strategies for generalised anxiety disorder

Self-help strategies that can help a person to control or reduce their worrying include:

Structured problem solving can help with generalised anxiety disorder

Structured problem solving is a way of turning fruitless worrying into strategies to find solutions. It is best to practise first on small worries or problems, and limit yourself to working on one problem at a time. As you become proficient at the technique, you can tackle larger, more complex problems. Write down all the steps as you work through them. The steps of structured problem solving include:

step one - identify the problem and be precise. For example, 'I am afraid of being alone in the house at night.'

step two - brainstorm every possible solution you can think of, without censoring any idea at this early stage. Give yourself permission to list even absurd or outlandish possibilities

step three - evaluate the solutions one at a time, noting the advantages and disadvantages of each

step four - decide on the most appropriate solution(s). It is sometimes better to choose a solution that can be implemented immediately, even though it might not be 'the best'. Avoid choosing solutions that are too ambitious or hard to fulfil

step five - make a plan for how you intend to implement the solution. Include factors such as the required resources (like money), help required from other people, time limits or deadlines, possible difficulties that may be encountered along the way, coping strategies for those anticipated difficulties, rehearsal (such as practising what to say during a job interview), and methods of monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the plan

step six - review the plan as necessary, perhaps adding or deleting points.

Relaxation and mindfulness meditation for generalised anxiety disorder

Many people who experience excessive worry report that they don't know how to relax. Regular practice of a relaxation technique, such as progressive muscle relaxation (systematic tensing and relaxing of the various muscle groups), can help to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety.

Mindfulness meditation, the practice of focusing our attention on the present moment, involves both physical relaxation and creating a calm and peaceful state of mind. During meditation, the brain's activity - when mapped by a device called an electroencephalograph (EEG) - is different to any other measurable state of consciousness, including sleep. The brain waves produced are called alpha waves, and this brain state has been found to promote relaxation of the entire nervous system.

Scientific studies show that the regular practice of meditation can be a powerful tool in anxiety management.

Exercise and managing generalised anxiety disorder

Exercise is proving to be an effective strategy to help people manage symptoms of depression and anxiety. There are various theories to explain how exercise can lift a person's mood. These include:

altered brain chemicals - Queensland researchers have found that regular exercise, and the subsequent increase in physical fitness, alters levels of a brain chemical called serotonin, which leads to improved mood and feelings of wellbeing

reduced adrenaline - physical activity burns up stress chemicals like adrenaline, which promotes a more relaxed body and mind

distraction - an enjoyable bout of exercise may be distracting enough to break the vicious cycle of worrying.

Seeking professional help for generalised anxiety disorder

Health professionals who can help treat GAD include , and .

Treatments that are helpful for alleviating GAD include a variety of psychological therapies and medications. A combination of , anxiety management techniques and improving physical wellness has been found to be successful in bringing generalised anxiety disorder under the person's control.

is sometimes used to relieve anxiety symptoms; however, if it is used, it is generally only recommended as a short-term measure.

Don't hesitate to seek professional advice if your self-help strategies don't seem to be working for you.

Where to get help

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Worrying can be constructive if it helps you to work out possible solutions to a problem, but some people are troubled by excessive anxiety.

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Having stress and worrying often can put you at increased risk for many physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, digestive issues, headaches, muscle tension and pain, heart disease,heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep problems, weight gain, and memory and concentration impairment

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Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a mental illness that affects a persons mindset by making normal worries more severe and scary.