All Conditions

Generalised Anxiety Disorder.

Excessive, free-floating worry that makes everyday situations feel overwhelming.

Generalised anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive fear and worry about everyday affairs, lasting for a period of at least six months. These fears are not centred around anything specific and cause significant distress and impairment. People who are suffering from generalised anxiety disorder worry that any situation may overwhelm them and they will not be able to cope with the aftermath. Some mental health experts describe generalised anxiety disorder as a persistent overestimation of the problem and underestimation of your own ability to cope with it. Anxiety may manifest physically in the form of muscle tension, dry mouth, headaches, GI distress, nausea and trembling etc. Due to the physical nature of anxiety symptoms, people struggling with GAD cannot reason their way out of their distress even if they know that their anxiety is out of proportion. Stigmatisation and lack of understanding from other people can worsen this condition and lead people to isolate themselves.

When to seek help

If you notice that your fear and worries are preventing you from functioning the way you would want to in areas such as school, work and relationships etc, it might be a good idea to seek professional help. Frequently avoiding situations that cause you to feel anxious or engaging in unhealthy coping strategies to deal with your worries can also be signs that treatment for generalised anxiety disorder is required.

How we can help

Self-assessment scales

These are the same validated scales clinicians use. Your answers stay on your device and take a few minutes.

Common questions

What's the difference between GAD and just being a worrier?
Almost everyone worries. GAD becomes a clinical issue when the worry is excessive, hard to control, present on most days, and persistent for at least six months, and when it is accompanied by physical symptoms such as muscle tension, restlessness, fatigue, or disturbed sleep [1]. The clinical line is functional impairment. If worry is interfering with sleep, work, or relationships, or if you cannot redirect your attention even when you want to, that is in GAD territory. People with GAD often describe their worry as automatic and unproductive, running in the background regardless of what they consciously think.
Why does my body feel anxious even when my mind tells me there's no real threat?
Anxiety is a function of the autonomic nervous system as well as conscious thought. Once the threat-response system has been sensitised by chronic stress, genetics, or past experience, it can fire on its own regardless of what your rational mind knows. This is why advice along the lines of 'just don't worry about it' rarely lands, and is genuinely frustrating for people living with the disorder. Treatment that also addresses the body, through breath work, exercise, grounding, and sometimes medication, often works better than purely cognitive approaches, particularly in the early stages.
What works better for GAD: medication or therapy?
Both medication and therapy have solid evidence behind them. SSRIs (escitalopram, sertraline) and SNRIs (venlafaxine, duloxetine) are the first-line medications. Cognitive behavioural therapy is the most evidence-supported psychotherapy [2]. For many people the combination works fastest. Medication can lower baseline anxiety enough that therapy becomes useful, and therapy provides skills that outlast the medication course. Benzodiazepines (alprazolam, lorazepam) help acutely but are not a long-term answer because of tolerance and dependence. They are best reserved for short courses or specific situations.
Will I always have GAD?
For many people, GAD is a chronic, relapsing condition rather than something that goes away permanently. With good treatment most people see meaningful symptom reduction and learn to manage flare-ups when they happen. Recovery usually means learning your own patterns: what tends to trigger escalation and what helps you settle, rather than reaching a state of no anxiety at all. Many people who treat GAD effectively go on to live with a low background level of anxiety they barely notice, with occasional periods that need more attention.