 Hi, everyone. We at Psych2Go would love to thank you for making us a digital family of more than 2 million. It's with your continued support that we're able to bring you new content regularly. Our mission is to help everyone become more self-aware of the various psychological factors that affect our lives. One such factor that we hear about on a daily basis is anxiety. But it's important to know when it's anxiety only and when it's become something more. So let's find out. Anxiety, in general, is our normal reaction to stress. In fact, it can be a good thing. Anxiety motivates you to accomplish your assignments, to study harder for a test, and it can warn you when you're in a dangerous situation. It informs you to be extra vigilant about your environment, to fight or flee. Generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD on the other hand, is a full-fledged anxiety disorder that involves intense and excessive anxiety as a key factor, along with other debilitating symptoms. Differentiating between normal anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, can be tricky. How do you know? Especially if you're a little more anxious than others, whether or not your anxiety is significant enough to qualify as a disorder. So let's begin with an introduction to the main concepts revolving around the two. One, normal anxiety is more of a friend than a foe. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion, which is characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. When we face potentially harmful or worrying triggers, feelings of anxiety are not only normal, but necessary for survival. Since the earliest days, the approach of predators in incoming danger set off alarms in the body and allowed evasive action. These alarms were in the form of a raised heartbeat, sweating, and increased sensitivity to surroundings. Danger causes a rush of adrenaline, a hormone in the brain, which in turn triggers the anxious reactions in a process called the fight or flight response. This prepares humans to physically confront or flee any potential threats to safety. All these are classic characteristics of normal anxiety. Such traits came in handy for our predecessors, but we don't have to be in a constant state of fight or flight anymore. So running from larger animals is a less pressing concern in present times than it would have been for early humans. Anxieties now revolve around work, money, family life, health, and other crucial issues that demand a person's attention without necessarily requiring the fight or flight reaction. The nervous feeling before an important life event, or during a difficult situation, is a natural echo of the original fight or flight reaction. It can still be essential to survival. Anxiety about being hit by a car when crossing the street, for example, means that a person will instinctively look both ways to avoid danger. When the duration or severity of an anxious feeling is out of proportion to the original trigger or stressor, physical symptoms such as increased blood pressure and nausea may also develop. These responses are what move normal anxiety beyond into GAD. Generalized anxiety disorder, GAD, is when the trouble starts. Generalized anxiety disorder involves persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily activities. People with symptoms of GAD tend to always expect disaster and can't stop worrying about health, money, family work, or school. In people with GAD, the worry is often unrealistic or out of proportion from the situation. Daily life becomes a constant state of worry, fear, and dread. Eventually the anxiety so dominates the person's thinking that it interferes with daily functioning, including work, school, social activities, and relationships. There are several key differences that make them distinguishable. Here are a few ways you can tell the two apart. 1. Presence of a stressor. Usually normal anxiety occurs in response to a stressor, such as an exam, an upcoming interview, a fight with a friend, or a new job. When you struggle with GAD, you're anxious most or almost all of the time, even when you can't spot the source of the stress. For instance, people with generalized anxiety disorder can have a difficult time just getting through the day. Even seemingly small responsibilities like paying the bills make them feel anxious. 2. Intensity and length. GAD produces intense and excessive emotional responses. Even if you're reacting to a stressor, your anxiety is disproportionate to that stressor. Many people are on the edge before an exam, but a person with GAD might be anxious several weeks beforehand and will experience intense symptoms right before and during the exam. Also, normal anxiety is fleeting while GAD is ongoing and the feelings can last weeks or months. 3. Physical symptoms of GAD. Excessive anxiety and worry aren't the only symptoms that accompany GAD. There are physical symptoms too. Dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating, trembling, heart pounding, headaches, and nausea. You feel like you can't breathe, can't talk, or have to go to the bathroom frequently. People with GAD also report feeling detachment and disconnected from reality. They feel like they can't think straight and have difficulty concentrating. Psychological symptoms are also present. Individuals experience racing or negative thoughts and are unable to concentrate and have worries about day-to-day things. 4. Impairment. When you struggle with GAD, it affects your entire life. It impairs or interferes with your schoolwork, job, and daily life. Avoidance is a symptom of GAD and can be quite debilitating. In other words, excessive anxiety can cause you to avoid normal activities. You might skip class, miss a test, stop going to work, or procrastinate grocery shopping or avoid anything that makes you feel anxious. 5. No control. Most people can reduce and control their anxiety through a variety of coping techniques and the ability to calm oneself. However, people with GAD have significant difficulty finding relaxation, calm, and time away from their worries. If you have more difficulty than other people you know in controlling your anxiety, it may be more than normal anxiety. Did you often find yourself confused about these two conditions? Do these factors make it easier to differentiate between the two? Do let us know in the comments below. If you are struggling with overwhelming anxiety and you can relate to some of these factors, don't hesitate to seek help from a mental health professional and subsequent treatment. Also, remember to share this video with someone you think might benefit from these as well. Don't forget to click the like button and subscribe for more content. As always, thanks for watching.