Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
DEFINITION
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is defined as persistent excessive free-floating anxiety and worry about multiple general aspects of life (e.g., family/relationships, school/work, and health).
- Anxiety and worry are normal phenomena in response to stress.
- The anxiety and worry associated with GAD is:
- Out of proportion to the actual likelihood or impact of the anticipated event, activity, or situation
- Difficult to control
- Causes significant distress, with associated physical symptoms
- Interferes with psychosocial functioning
- The etiology of GAD is not completely understood, but biological and psychosocial factors appear to contribute
- One third of the risk of experiencing GAD appears due to genetic causes
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.
Last updated: June 10, 2017
Citation
Kimmel, Mary, et al. "Generalized Anxiety Disorder." Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide, 2017. Johns Hopkins Guides, www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787058/all/Generalized_Anxiety_Disorder.
Kimmel M, Zachik C, Speed T. Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. 2017. https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787058/all/Generalized_Anxiety_Disorder. Accessed September 28, 2023.
Kimmel, M., Zachik, C., & Speed, T. (2017). Generalized Anxiety Disorder. In Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787058/all/Generalized_Anxiety_Disorder
Kimmel M, Zachik C, Speed T. Generalized Anxiety Disorder [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide. ; 2017. [cited 2023 September 28]. Available from: https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787058/all/Generalized_Anxiety_Disorder.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Generalized Anxiety Disorder
ID - 787058
A1 - Kimmel,Mary,M.D.
AU - Zachik,Claire,
AU - Speed,Traci,M.D., Ph.D.
Y1 - 2017/06/10/
BT - Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide
UR - https://www.hopkinsguides.com/hopkins/view/Johns_Hopkins_Psychiatry_Guide/787058/all/Generalized_Anxiety_Disorder
DB - Johns Hopkins Guides
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
