Stress is part and parcel of life. For most of us, we learn to overcome life's problems and move on. For some though, the anxiety spirals downward into chronic, undue worry over everyday things - money, health, family, job. Find out more about the debilitating effects of generalized anxiety disorder and how you can take control of this self-destructive condition.

What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

Anxiety is a normal emotional and physiological response to a stressful or dangerous situation. In fact, it helps us to cope with stress and motivates us to focus on the task at hand.

However, when such anxiety becomes too frequent, exaggerated and persistent, it can develop into a type of anxiety disorder known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Generalized anxiety disorder is a condition that is much more severe than the normal anxiety most people experience from time to time. It is characterized by 6 months or more of chronic, exaggerated worry and tension about a number of everyday problems, which is out of proportion to the actual source of worry.

People with this disorder compulsively anticipate disaster, to the extent that their anxiety often interferes with daily functioning. They tend to expect the worst, worrying excessively about everyday routine life events and activities even though there is little reason to expect it.