Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List
| | A | | | B | | | C | | | D | | | E | | | F | | | G | | | H | | | I | | | J | | | K | | | L | | | M | |
| | N | | | O | | | P | | | Q | | | R | | | S | | | T | | | U | | | V | | | W | | | X | | | Y | |
Diagnosis of Anxiety
If you think you may have GAD, you should visit your GP.
You may have to answer a number of questions for the doctor to work out how anxious you are.
Diagnosis is made if it is determined that:
- you feel you worry too much and you can’t stop or control your worrying,
- you have been worried on most days for at least six months,
- you worry about lots of different things and the worry is out of proportion,
- worrying is interfering with your life.
Your GP will also ask you about your general health and about any physical symptoms. They may do a physical examination and carry out blood tests or other tests to rule out the possibility of heart disease, thyroid disease or other illnesses.
If you have anxiety disorder, your doctor may use a specific questionnaire to measure your symptoms. Later, your doctor may use the same list to see if the treatment has helped. There are a number of different scales - the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) are commonly used.
GAD can be hard to diagnose. Many people believe it is normal for them to feel very anxious and that nothing can be done about it. You may visit your GP with physical symptoms, as GAD can cause real aches and pains, which can sometimes confuse a diagnosis.
