I know that many members of this community deal with all-day anxiety. I often hear descriptions of continuous anxiety that just sits in the background all the time, making one very uncomfortable. Often there are no panic attacks, or they may be few and far between, leaving the all-day anxious person confused and clinging to that three letter label:
G-A-D
It’s important to understand that being anxious all day does not automatically mean you have GAD. People with panic disorder, agoraphobia and health anxiety are also often anxious all day too, so be mindful of of that. You may get a diagnoses of GAD from a qualified clinician, or you may not. Either way, the label is not all that important because it does not indicate that you are in a special situation that is impossible to deal with. GAD is not a life sentence. Even if you do have GAD, you do not have to be doomed forever to be anxious and unsettled during every waking moment.
One of the hallmarks of GAD is persistent worry, focus or rumination about a number of things that may change from day to day or even hour to hour. That worry, focus, and rumination shows up as anxiety and it is very unpleasant. Someone with GAD isn’t necessarily anxious about being anxious in the same way that someone with panic disorder might be. But the GAD person often winds up more anxious than they need to be simply because they can’t find a way to solve the problem of the anxiety that makes them uncomfortable (though maybe not afraid).
This is not really news though, because people with GAD often get anxious about trying to solve, know, understand, fix and control EVERYTHING. In fact, there is a segment of the professional mental health community that will point at traits like perfectionism, people pleasing, overthinking, over-planning, excessive worrying, and excessive focus on problem solving as common underlying drivers of GAD.
Odds are that you are well aware of the “Allow it and let it be there without engagement” advice when it comes to dealing with anxiety.
This really hard for someone with panic disorder because they fear immediate danger from the anxious state itself. This is also hard for someone with GAD because ”leave it alone” is not a thing that feels right to do EVER under any circumstances. This is especially true in the face of a really uncomfortable anxiety problem that they can neither understand nor solve. An unanswerable question wrapped around a seemingly unsolvable problem? This is a damn near nightmare scenario for many people that suffer from all day anxiety or that have gotten a GAD diagnosis. Why? Because ... problem solving and knowing!
So maybe you have GAD. Maybe you don’t. Even that statement might make you anxious to some degree because ... uncertainty. But if this is a thing you are struggling with, take some time to think about your propensity to problem solve, know, fix, predict, control, or perfect. Are you the hyper-responsible person that feels like the health and happiness of the world is on your shoulders? Are you driven to please everyone to avoid being judged or plunged into conflict?
If you’re wondering why you’re anxious all day, and wondering “What about GAD?”, considering some of this may start to shed some light on your situation. The mystery of all day anxiety and GAD sometimes begins to reveal itself when examined from this point of view.
Tomorrow we’ll examine the difference between “managing your anxiety” and just hanging on because you are afraid.
Hey it’s Monday and that means that today at 2 PM Eastern I’ll do my “Recovery Monday” livestream on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Come join in!
26. All Day Anxiety