Literature Review: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

By Kat D.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a concerning problem for people in their everyday life. Jacob Priest, a professor of family couples therapy claims that GAD affects “approximately 3.1% of the US population each year”(Priest 1) and is increasing exponentially. Harvard medical school, an institution for medical teachings, explains that GAD is defined as an anxiety that is “chiefly debilitating by worry and agitation about nothing in particular” ( Harvard Medical Journal 2). Making GAD draining and exhausting. J Prenoveau professor in psychometrics has driven further development of the claim that GAD can lead to other disorders like “major depressive disorder and panic disorder” (Prenoveau 1). GAD is an epidemic that affects millions of people today. This literature review analyzes GAD. It questions this concerning problem by considering the sociocultural causes and potential solutions. A careful evaluation of the research on the sociocultural aspect of this issue highlights the importance of discrimination causing GAD, trauma presenting GAD symptoms, and mindfulness based therapies

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