CMAP Health

Anxiety Disorientation

“I get so anxious I can’t see straight!” 

“It builds into a panic and I lose myself”

“I never get anything done!”

Generalized Anxiety is often overwhelming. It is disorientating and you may lose track of your ability to do what you know you are capable of. It seems as if you have no life skills and it often paralyzes you, just as Major Depression may do.

In fact, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is often missed by clinicians who may diagnose depression or a more specific anxiety disorder instead. Yet it requires such different treatment.

“She’s the worrier in the family”

“He is lazy and never completes a task”

“She is just a typical anxious mum”

Worry and anxiety are so common in people that it is difficult to recognize when it warrants help. Everybody worries at times. However, not everyone loses sleep when they do. Most people feel anxious facing setbacks and challenges, yet often they somehow get on with it. What makes you seem so stuck?

Many of our clients are surprised that excessive and uncontrollable worry and anxiety likely constitute a treatable disorder. They are often relieved to find that their difficulties solving problems are more due to the interference of worry than a lack of skill.

Likewise, procrastination, doubt, exhaustion, and demoralization will likely feature when GAD is present. As do social anxiety, perfectionism, and low mood.

However, it is very different from social anxiety disorder or major depression and it requires a therapy approach focused on overcoming worry and anxiety about varied situations and scenarios.

Ways forward in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) involve the appropriate use of relaxation techniques, evaluation of beliefs about the usefulness of worrying, experiments with change, developing tolerance of uncertainty, etc. 

Therapists at CMAP Health have many years of experience working with GAD. They have developed a unique level of expertise in treating its features to full recovery. 

 

 

About the Author:

Kirstine Postma, CPsych, Clinical Director

Kirstine Postma is a UK trained Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of professional experience. She provides psychological assessment and interventions for a wide variety of difficulties, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety and mood disorders, and certain personality disorders. She offers Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and EMDR, as well as several other evidence-based therapies.