GAD (generalised anxiety disorder)

We have all experienced feeling worried at one point in our lives, for example when sitting an exam, what if I fail or having a job interview, what if I can't answer their questions. However, for some people, they feel that their worries are constant, excessive, uncontrollable and are impacting their daily life.

General anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder in which someone experiences recurrent and uncontrollable worries, which can be about a range of issues in their lives e.g. safety of loved ones, being late, being dismissed from work. Experiencing excessive worries causes people to experience symptoms of anxiety and exhaustion.

Common symptoms include:

• Feeling restless or on edge
• Trouble concentrating
• Trouble with relaxing and sleeping
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• A range of physical symptoms including heart palpitations, shaking, excess sweating

Support available:

These Self Help Guides produced by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust cover a range of mental health issues.

Living Life to the Full provides lots of different online self-help courses that are highly recommended by mental health professionals, covering lots of different specific topics and groups, including helping you to tackle anxiety.

Moodgym is another online self-help program designed to help you prevent and manage symptoms of depression/anxiety. Their interactive, online self-help book teaches skills based on cognitive behavioural therapy.

No More Panic provides valuable information for sufferers and carers of people with panic, anxiety, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD). Its purpose is to provide members with support, advice and a chance to meet like-minded people and make friends along the way.

GAD can also be treated via psychological therapies. Visit our service lookup here to see if we deliver a talking therapy service in your local area. Alternatively, you can visit the NHS website here and enter your postcode to find your local service. You can self-refer for support, you don't need a referral from a GP.