At times, I worry so much that I wanted to do some research (I mean Google search) on excessive anxiety. This post is based on what I found regarding anxiety, a feeling that all parents of all times have experienced. Well, if all parents of all times felt anxiety, then it should be a normal thing. Ok… Then, when is anxiety abnormal? The answer is, anxiety is abnormal when it becomes a disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
There is a widely used medical term called Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). GAD refers to excessive worries. When a person experiences GAD, anticipations may lead to excessive anxiety related to simple as well as complex matters concerning family, financial condition, health, work, and any other aspect of day-to-day life. A person may be diagnosed with GAD if she/he finds it extremely difficult to control worrying for an extended period of time.
Three out of one hundred people in the USA have GAD.
How will I know if I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Thanks to science — there are ways to test if someone has GAD. Instead of saying Thanks to science, I should say, Thanks to scientists. So, thanks to scientists for conducting systematic studies of anxiety and stress.
A group of four scientists — Robert L. Spitzer, Kurt Kroenke, Janet B. W. Williams, and Bernd Löwe — came up with a set of questionnaire, honest answers of which may determine a person’s level of anxiety. There are only seven questions in this assessment. This measure is called GAD-7. Detailed descriptions are available in the paper titled — A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety DisorderThe GAD-7 that the four scientists published in The Journal of the American Medical Association – Internal Medicine.
The group established the GAD-7 measure by surveying a total of 3705 people (2740 by study questionnaire and 965 by phone interviews). At first, they came up with thirteen questions. Later, an analysis on the survey data revealed that seven questions are sufficient to detect the level of anxiety. The quiz we have created in this post is based on the final seven questions that the scientists claimed can be used as an assessment tool for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Assess your anxiety level
At the end of the quiz, you will know your anxiety level based on your answers to the questions. Possible anxiety levels are Minimal, Mild, Moderate, and Severe.
This is a test to assess your anxiety level using GAD-7 assessment questionnaire.
Is severe anxiety level harmful?
Severe anxiety may cause many problems. Not all the problems are psychological. The body is connected to the mind. Anxiety may cause breathing problems as well as it can cause neurological damages. Moreover, many studies link anxiety with increased heart-related risks. Would you believe if I say that anxiety makes our skin look older? It is true. If you are interested, please take a look at this WebMD page: Effects of Stress on Your Skin. Aha 💡 now I know why I became sooo old sooo quickly (after my child was born).
What should I do if I am diagnosed with severe anxiety?
Please do not depend on an online quiz to come to a conclusion. Please talk to your doctor. Your doctor will assess the situation and detect any impact of the anxiety level you may have.
In addition to talking to your doctor, doing whatever soothes you is a great idea. We have a few friends who love to run more than ten miles to reduce stress. 🙂 If you have been following our blog for some time, you might have noticed that Dear Dad of this blog loves to do gardening related things. Blogging can be a stress-release mechanism too. Meditation, listening to calming music, spending time in nature — all seem to work well to reduce the stress level. The summary is, do something that pleases you. Do it yourself and do it for yourself.
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Thanks for sharing
Great article!
Just wanted to five my top 3 stress-busting tips!
1 – Meditate – as much or as little as you have time for. It has helped me through some tough times.
2 – Yoga & Cardio Exercise – I can’t think straight without raising my heart rate for at least 30 mins per day.
3 – Avoid Social Media – You know it’s true…haha! Living your life waiting for “likes” is the best way to increase stress IMO!!!
Hope this helps some of your readers.
Keep up the great work!
Matt recently posted…A cure for stress? – Are there really any benefits of weighted blankets???
Great tips! Thanks for sharing. I like the one related to the social media most. ? Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
I tried the anxiety level test and I am shook that the result is ‘severe’. Anxiety is a really serious illness and almost everyone is suffering from it. That’s why every one need to read this article to help them fight their anxiety too. Every one should remember that every things gonna be alright. Don’t be afraid, Don’t over think, Just enjoy every moment and every second that we are living in this world. Life is so short.
There’s always a way to solve certain problems in life no matter what it is and how hard it would be. You may not accept it right away but instead you may denying it at first. Anger would be normally for those experiencing severe anxiety then bargaining would be next to it untill you reach to the point that you will be accepting the reality about it. In this way it would be nore easier for you and the people around you to help and understand you more.
Excellent quiz! I got a Moderate Anxiety Level. I always got irritated by small things and my husband told me to be patient and calm. I know in myself that I got nervous with small things and I always imagine that something might happen to me or my family. We even go to a doctor before and he told me to avoid imagining things especially if it is affecting my health. I admit I had this kind of disorder and as long as I can control it I will. For now I am always reading books and watching pastry making videos to lessen my anxiety level. 🙂 Thank you!
I agree with you, that is another way for improving your anxiety level. Correcting behavior of individuals is not an easy task, it requires temper, mindset and dedication for every activities. We cannot blame ourselves for having anxiety because its normal to all people but if wen manage it, that’s good.
First of all, you need to accept that there is a problem. Acceptance is the first step in dealing with anxiety. Denying the issue would also result to denying help from people that are concerned. It’s like, denying medication for colds even though you already have a runny nose because you don’t believe that you are sick.
I totally agree. I myself denied for way too long that my anxiety was a problem and tried to convince myself I could handle it on my own. This resulted in destroying a lot of personal relationships because they understandably couldn’t put up with all my severe behavioral changes. It took a really long time for me to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t just deal with it on my own without medication.
I’ve come to notice that things that bother others don’t affect me one bit and that has gone a way to show that I’m not that type of person that have this issue of excessive anxiety. However, it’s nice to know that there is a situation like this as well as understanding that we have good ways that we could manage them as well.
Everyone is different and I think it can be very difficult to explain anxiety to others who don’t also suffer from it. It’s a fantastic thing if a guide like this can help neurotypical individuals understand anxiety disorders a little better.
Thank you so much for that information! I have learned a lot from your post!
Thank you for your kind words. Have a wonderful evening.
So true. There is no quick formula to get rid of anxiety. Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts. Have a winderful week.
There is no quick fix. As much as any one of us would like to just swallow a pill and wake up free of any trace of anxiety and panic, that just doesn’t working in real life.
However one CAN recover fully from anxiety disorder. But it takes time, discipline, hard work, power of will, powerful routines and voluntary daily transformation.
Anxiety is a horrible burden mixed with depression. Anxiety has put barriers in peoples lives. Everybody has the potential to cure anxiety, though some require medication at first (that’s in no way a long-term solution), it depends on their level of anxiety. Therapy can help, but most of all it is willpower, regular routines, recognizing triggers and dealing with them, ETC! Worries are negative and should be dealt with to move on to achieve happiness.
During these tough times, our family is the easiest and strongest support group that we could ever have. Never underestimate the power of love that is coming from your own family. We all had, have and still having our fair share of anxiety. But our family is right there every time even though we don’t realize it most of the time. A simple pep talk could release a lot and unload most of your worries. And it could all start with a simple approach to your family members.
Agreed. Support from the family always eases the difficulties. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
I do not have any anxiety issue, however, my wife battled with anxiety for a long time. Thankfully, he was able to curb her anxiety. Based on what I have observed and what my wife has experienced, I have created a blog called Mental Help and Anxiety Blog.
Thank you for visiting and commenting. Please share the link of your Mental Help and Anxiety Blog. I have seen your Wellbeing & Wellness blog but not the other one. Have a wonderful week.
Thank you for making this post. Generalized Anxiety Disorder is no joke. It took me a long time to come to terms with having an anxiety disorder. It took an excessively bad panic attack last year to make me realize that I wasn’t managing well at all without treatment. I started seeing a doctor and taking medication, and am doing much better now. If you think you or a loved one might have an anxiety disorder, please take it seriously and seek medical treatment.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I agree that seeking professional help is the best idea. Have a wonderful week.
What should I do if I am diagnosed with sever anxiety? Spelling would help.
Corrected the spelling. Thank you for the help.
I was diagnosed with GAD and know it’s no joke. Thanks for your tips to help others and also to raise awareness for the issue xx Sharing across social media now.
I am sorry to know that you were diagnosed with GAD. It is definitely a difficult situation. More awareness is required.
I appreciate the shares. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.
Good quiz, can determine what level of anxiety.
I am glad to know that you liked the post. Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful evening.
Honestly speaking, having kids is a not an easy tasks for any parents. Guidance accordingly is a must in order for them act with good behavior. I understand that social media is trending and its has different types of influences to people but still, if we will take care of our family and expose them in the reality anxiety will be lessen. We must boost our confidence and self esteem to decrease the level of anxiety.
Definitely, we need to find ways to reduce anxiety, especially because anxiety does not do any good to the person we are anxious about.
This is one of the main reason why social media is really appealing to a lot of people. Because social media is portraying something that is, most of the time, really from the truth. It creates a world where people are always seemingly happy and without problems and anxiety. But behind those happy photos lies the truth that, it’s not always like that. There are still those unhappy times and that’s the reality. It’s completely normal to be unhappy sometimes. It’s normal to be just okay. It’s normal to be sad because that is reality. It’s okay to go through it. But never forget to “go through” and never “stay”.
Absolutely. GAD is a disorder in which people cannot help worrying. Routine activities suggested by professionals may help reduce anxiety level. Thank you for visiting and commenting.
A nice little quiz at the end. My result is “Your level of anxiety: Minimal” so I’m quite happy. I had a lot of issues with anxiety when I was a bit younger. I was one of those people that constantly worried about every little thing. It ended up getting to the point where I had to start taking medicine to tone it down or it would overtake my life.
Now, after several years, I am free from the meds and my anxiety is so well controlled. For anybody struggling with it, I’d really suggest trying out meditation – that helped me the most.
I appreciate that you have shared your experience regarding anxiety. I am happy to know that you have taken control over anxiety. Thank you for letting readers know that MEDITATION helped you.
Thank you for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful week ahead.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder should not neglect or ignore. Parents are the one mostly suffer from this. Having a family and a home is totally different from single and free. Financial matters are common reasons of anxiety. Unexpected happenings that could affect the budget of family is such a big deal specially if kids are going to school ar still need formula and others. Preparedness in such situation like this will help or prevent having a severe anxiety. Having a financial plan would be great.
Agreed. Proper planning may help reduce anxiety. Thank you for visiting and commenting.