Answer to Question 1
Specific anxiety disorders are complicated by panic attacks or other features that are the focus of the anxiety. In generalized anxiety disorder, the focus is generalized to the events of everyday life. The DSM-IV-TR criteria specify that at least 6 months of excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation) must be ongoing more days than not. Furthermore, it must be difficult to turn off or control the worry process.
GAD is characterized by muscle tension, mental agitation (Brown, Marten, & Barlow, 1995), susceptibility to fatigue (probably the result of chronic excessive muscle tension), some irritability, and difficulty sleeping. Focusing attention is difficult as the mind quickly switches from crisis to crisis. People with GAD mostly worry about minor, everyday life events, a characteristic that distinguishes GAD from other anxiety disorders.
A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation that markedly interferes with an individual's ability to function. It manifests itself in agoraphobia, a specific phobia, or a social phobia.
People with GAD avoid distressing thoughts and feelings. The phobic individual avoids situations or objects or endures with intense anxiety or distress.
Answer to Question 2
GAD is a syndrome that characterizes every anxiety disorder. The criteria specify at least 6 months of excessive anxiety and worry that is ongoing for more days than not and is difficult to forget.
Panic attacks are associated with autonomic arousal, while GAD is characterized by muscle tension and mental agitation, fatigue, irritability, and difficulty sleeping. People with GAD also tend to worry excessively about minor things as well as major events.
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