Question

Compared to a panic disorder, in which we find "a lot of anxiety" in a discrete period of time, in GAD, individuals experience moderate levels of anxiety but continuously and from various sources. What are some of the sources of anxiety in modern society? Would one expect levels of GAD to be higher today compared to the past? What are some examples of GAD that you have observed directly or indirectly?

Answer 1

People who suffer from GAD get anxious in large crowds, speaking in front of groups, experience some social anxiety when they go to a party, have performance anxiety before a test/presentation/submitting an academic assignment, have anxiety about medical procedures, are anxious about arriving to appointments/class/work/etc. late

Answer 2

One method of reducing anxiety for individuals who suffer from GAD is exposure therapy and systematic desensitization. Because anxious people today have many more ways to avoid their anxieties rather than face them (attend online school as opposed to going to an anxiety-inducing classroom/ using online dating to meet people instead of going to a bar), they do not get the benefit of exposure therapy as they used to in the past when certain anxiety-producing scenarios were unavoidable to function in daily life. Therefore, i might argue that yes, we would expect higher levels of GAD to be present today than in the past.