Common Mental Disorders

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder, GAD is a common mental disorder. Around 4% of the population is suffering from GAD in Hong Kong. Individuals with GAD experience excessive, uncontrollable worries continuously for no less than 6 months. 

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It is commonly believed that GAD is caused by an interaction between biological, psychological and environmental factors. Factors such as genetics inheritance, neurochemical imbalance (biological), neuroticism (psychological), stress events in life and personal history (environment), can also increase the chance of developing GAD. 

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People with GAD often worry about all sorts of things. This does not only make them anxious and nervous, but also causes mental stress and muscle tension in the long run, and affects their sleep quality. When facing difficulties letting go their anxious thoughts,  they may even feel more anxious for being overworried. Their cognition, behavior, and bodily reaction form a vicious cycle over time, and this keeps the problem going.