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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Is generalised anxiety disorder a permanent condition?
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Hello, i have been battling with generalised anxiety disorder for a year and while i am a little better than when all of this started i become so hopeless and distressed when somebody tells me that this is something that never really goes away and i will have to struggle with it for the rest of my life. Could you please offer me some insight? -
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Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith
Health Professional
My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile
I used to be a member of a therapy group for people with mood disorders. Another member of the group had severe Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
She found that a combination of learning mindfulness/meditation methods, breathing exercises and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was highly effective for her GAD. She refers to those things as her "toolkit".
Sometimes I run into her at the local coffee shop - she is completely recovered :-).
It might help if you found a mental health professional, (eg, a clinical psychologist), who has experience of using those approaches when working with his/her clients.
With good help Generalised Anxiety Disorder is definitely not a permanent condition.
All the best.
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Anthony Berrick
Psychologist
There is absolutely no reason why you can't recover from generalised anxiety disorder. Psychological therapy (such as that described by Simon, above) has been shown to be an effective evidence-based treatment.
Psychological therapy for GAD involves learning skills to deal better with worries and anxious feelings, so that they stop getting in the way of living life to the fullest.
It can be difficult to learn a new skill at first, but with assistance from a psychologist who is experienced in treating GAD, you should be able to experience noticeable improvement in a relatively short amount of time.
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Michael Guy
Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist
I am a clinical and coaching psychologist (www.lifeaftertrauma.com.au) with over 15 years of professional experience. Recognized qualifications and lots of experience to give me skills … View Profile
Hello. I would be interested in what happened a year ago and whether that represented a significant trauma. If so you may need to see someone who has experience with trauma treatment. Significant trauma will indeed remain with you for the rest of your life but the intensity of emotion associated with the memory can be reduced and in many cases eliminated. With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder we often see very little change over time without treatment but treatments have improved dramatically over the last thirty years and with treatment most people see significant improvement.
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