Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
What is the difference. I go through periods when my anxiety is high all day long, I am assuming that is generalized anxiety. My daughter told me last year at this time that her and her husband were getting a divorce. It felt like I hit a brick wall. Of course I had a lot of anxiety through that time. The divorce is now final but of course the stress lingers on dealing with the ex and "worrying" about how this will affect my beautiful grandkids. Now I am going through the same kind of anxious feelings as I did a year ago. Does anyone feel that anxiety resurfaces again due to it being that time of year again??
Here's the definitions from WebMD:
Panic disorder : People with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations (irregular heartbeats), and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart attack or "going crazy."
Generalized anxiety disorder : This disorder involves excessive, unrealistic worry and tension, even if there is little or nothing to provoke the anxiety.
It definitely sounds like yours is GAD, and the issues with your family could definitely be making it worse. Certain things trigger mine: Mother's Day, traveling, tax time.
If you're not doing counseling, I highly recommend it as it should help teach you some skills you can use to lessen the anxiety you're feeling.
Good Luck!