Generalized Anxiety Disorder 1

Running Head: GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

Generalized Anxiety Disorder on Children and Adolescents

Reyes, Jessica Mae R.

Saylon, Kyle Zandrex A.

Solee, Jaypee A.

Eng-11 / A13

School of Languages, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Mapa Institute of Technology

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder on Children and Adolescents

People who tend to always expect disaster and cant stop worrying about health,

money, family, work, or school (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, c. 2016). You may have

seen a child who worries a lot. A child who tend to ask what if? and followed by a

series of questions. On another instance, you may have seen an adolescent who tend

to perform poorly in school and avoids relationships with other people. Children, and

adolescents alike, with symptoms like these, are known to have a Generalized Anxiety

Disorder and chances are high that when GAD is untreated it will develop into

depression (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of

Health, National Institute of Mental Health, 2015)

What GAD is

Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent, excessive, and

unrealistic worry about everyday things (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, c. 2015). It

interferes with the human brains mechanism of signaling the person in times of danger

and how the person must act. GAD interferes in such a way that it signals the person

even without the presence of danger. This also causes emotional distress which affects

the affected persons performance to deteriorate.

Untreated disorder may be chronic and predicative of depression and anxiety

Untreated GAD may cause it to be chronic as time passes by. It also leads to

anxiety and depression in adulthood if not treated during childhood or adolescence. The

treatment for GAD can reduce the intensity of the disorder thus resulting to a more
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normal life and a productive one. Although it can be treated, the ADAA estimates that

only a third of people affected by anxiety disorders receive proper treatment (Bailey, E.,

2008). According to Shrand (2012), people who fail to seek treatment is because of the

stigma of mental illness wherein people find it shameful to be depressed.

A number of adult Americans suffer from GAD

Millions of adult American adults suffer from GAD which most often begin in

childhood or in adolescence. According to Anxiety Disorders: Facts and Statistics (c.

2014), anxiety disorders are common in the U.S. and are found to be affecting 40 million

adults age 18 and above. The number of affected adults comprises around 18% of the

population. Another article says that women are affected by GAD more than men

(General Anxiety Disorders, c. 2015). Most chronic mood and anxiety disorders in adults

begin in childhood or adolescence. Statistically speaking, one in eight children are

affected by anxiety disorders (Anxiety Disorders: Facts and Statistics, c. 2014). On a

research about the prevalence of mental disorders (Merikangas K.R., He J., Burstein

M., Swanson S.A., Avenevoli S., Cui L., Benjet C., Georgiades K., Swendsen J. Lifetime

prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. Adolescents, n.d.), 13 to 18 year olds have a

lifetime prevalence of 25.1% and 5.9% of 13 to 18 year olds have lifetime prevalence of

severe disorders. In relation to that, children with high levels of anxiety could mean a

higher risk of depression as an adult (Depression: What you need to know, 2015).

According to an article about anxiety disorders, anxiety disorders were believed

to decline with age but that was only because older people tend to less likely report their

mental condition and more likely to report physical complications. It was then
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recognized that anxiety and aging are independent of each other. Anxiety is as common

among the elderly as among the young. It was also found that adults developed their

anxiety from when they were still young (Older Adults, n.d.). GAD is also the most

common mental disorder among adults because they tend to experience more traumatic

events as they grow up.

Untreated GAD can lead to a disastrous life

Untreated anxiety disorders can lead to underachieving at study or work, misuse

of alcohol and drugs, and an increased risk of suicide (Anxiety and depression in young

people, n.d.). Depression also carries a high risk of suicide. Over 90% of people who

die by suicide are found to have been diagnosed of depression or another mental

disorder. Also, people who suicide are found to have a substance abuse problem which

often come with other mental disorders. Patients with untreated anxiety were found to

have reduced functioning in physical health (Bailey, E., 2008). Physical illnesses are

also a result of an untreated anxiety disorder. It causes the affected person to become

easily fatigued or have chronic body pains. These physical complications cause adults

to lose time for work or jobs. According to Cora (2014), fatigue may be normal to people

but if it lingers accompanied by a low mood or a decreased interest, this fatigue may be

tied to early signs of depression. People with untreated anxiety can have problems in

their relationships (Bailey, E., 2008). Untreated anxiety can also lead to adulthood

anxiety which causes the affected person to have complications in keeping relationships

with other people. This results to social isolation which in turn results to depression and

anxiety. According to Bailey (2008), untreated anxiety can also lead to other mental

disorders, such as depression or substance abuse. People with anxiety, are more likely
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to have a higher risk of suicide or harming himself. Another article states that people

who are depressed cannot simply pull themselves together. Thus, having a harder life

since clinical depression, which results from untreated anxiety, can last for days,

months, or even worse, years.

GAD is in comorbidity with other mental disorders

GAD is found to be in comorbidity with other psychological disorders especially

with major depressive disorders (Delisio, 2006). According to the European Psychiatry

(2004), being in comorbidity with other psychological disorders of GAD is one of its

fundamental characteristics. In other words, GAD has higher chance of coexisting with

other psychological disorders. A study conducted by Carter, Wittchen, Phister, and

Kessler (2001) revealed that half of the patients diagnosed with anxiety symptoms are

found to meet the criteria for another psychiatric disorder. Disorders found to be in

comorbidity with GAD includes major depressive disorder, having a 62.4% rate of

comorbidity and considered the highest comorbidity of GAD. Which is then followed by

dysthymia with 39.5%, alcoholism with 37.6%, simple phobia with 35.1%, drug abuse

with 27.6%, and panic disorder with 23.5% (Southern Medical Journal, 2003). GAD is a

chronic disorder and found to have an average duration of 23 years according to the

British Journal of Psychiatry (1996). Although there were disputes between at which

point in life does GAD start. According to the New England Journal of Medicine (2004),

the onset of GAD occurs before the age 25 meanwhile, the British Journal of Psychiatry

(1996) says that GAD occurs at the age 45 for men while 35 for women.
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According to Noyes Jr.,(2001), pure generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) only

exists in a minority of people. Comorbidity rates are also high for other anxiety

disorders, namely panic disorders, and depressive disorders, namely dysthymia and

major depressive disorder (MDD). The rates suggest that these disorders are somehow

related to the existence of GAD to the affected person. According to Hirschfeld, M.D.

(2001), depressive and anxiety disorders are commonly diagnosed together in patients.

Conclusion

An untreated Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) leads to a disastrous life. It

affects a persons way of thinking and living. It slowly destroys the persons life to the

point it destroys the person himself. With different comorbidities, GAD must be treated

as early as possible to prevent further disorders to develop.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is something that we must not avoid. For it is

pernicious whether you are a child, an adolescent, or an adult. It interferes with the way

on how people think of what happens around them which can be dangerous in certain

circumstances. With a proper treatment, the intensity of the disorder may be reduced to

the point it can no longer interfere with your activities.

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Bibliography:

Anxiety and Depression in young people (n.d.). Retrieved from:

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Anxiety Disorders: Facts and Statistics (c. 2014). Retrieved from:

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Bailey, E. (2008). What happens when Anxiety goes untreated. Retrieved from:

http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/22705/32960/anxiety-untreated/

Carter, R.M., Wittchen, H.U., Phister, H., Kessler, R.C. (2001) . Study on the One-Year

Prevalence of Sub-Threshold and Threshold DSM-IV Generalized Anxiety

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Cora MD, G. (2014). 10 Depression Symptoms to Watch For. Retrieved from:

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Delisio, K. (2006). Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What is it? What pharmaceutical

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (c. 2015). Retrieved from:

http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (c. 2016). Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-

panic/guide/generalized-anxiety-disorder

Hirschfeld, M.D., R.M.A. (2001). The Comorbidity of Major Depression and Anxiety

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Merinkangas, K.R., He, J., Burstein, M., Swanson, S.A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., Benjet,

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http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-anxiety-disorder-among-

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Noyes Jr, M.D., R. (2001). Comorbidity in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Retrieved from:

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