GAD affects 10 percent of Americans

By Joe Stuteville

While anxiety is an adaptive and universal response to danger, a continual ‘fear of fear’ is a disorder. The good news is: it’s treatable.

Today, between three to six million Americans experience panic disorder, a condition characterized by sudden, unexplained feelings of terror and a fear that one is plunging into madness, losing control or dangling on the cusp of death. Women are twice as likely to suffer from this disorder than men.

“Anxiety is a universal human experience and is an adaptive response to danger,” said Susan Ball, director of the Anxiety Disorder Clinic at the IU School of Medicine. “But a person with panic disorder develops a continual fear of having another panic attack and it becomes a fear of fear.”

Are you a chronic worrywart? Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which affects up to 10 percent of the U.S. population, is characterized by excessive and unprovoked worry and tension. Often accompanied by other anxiety disorders and depression, GAD is chronic without treatment.

According to the Anxiety-Panic Resource Center, GAD comes on gradually and most often hits people in childhood or adolescence but can begin in adulthood, too. It’s more common in women than in men and often occurs in relatives of affected persons.

Have an uncontrollable fear of public speaking or of not being liked by others when gathered in large groups? Left unchecked, these could be signs of social anxiety disorder, affecting up to 13 percent of Americans. Severe childhood behavioral inhibitions—not just mere shyness—are a major risk factor for this disorder.

The good news is that many with these disorders can be effectively treated through a combination of psychotherapy and medication.