Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in children includes excessive worry and anxiety about many activities or events (past, present, and future). Children and adolescents have difficulty controlling the worry and can demonstrate a variety of worry-related symptoms (e.g., restlessness, fatigue, difficulty maintaining concentration, irritability, body tension, and disturbed sleep). Children and adolescents with GAD have difficulty controlling the amount of time they spend worrying and their worries interferes with their daily life. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is more than a normal amount of worry. Children and adolescent with GAD have many worries which are not related to one topic and not better explained by another diagnosis. GAD is one of the more common anxiety disorders and occurs more frequently in adolescents than pre-adolescents. GAD occurs equally in males and females until individuals reach adulthood. GAD is typically treated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and intervention strategies include but are not limited to education, desensitization, relaxation, and coping thoughts. Parental involvement is an important piece of treatment of GAD.