Anxiety -- Is It a Problem for You? 7 questions provide the answer

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Article Title:

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Anxiety -- Is It a Problem for You? 7 questions provide the answer

Article Description:

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is " one of the most common

anxiety problems seen in general medical practices. " Physicians

are likely to see between 2.8% and 8.5% of their patients

suffering from this type of anxiety, according to a national

survey (1).

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Distribution Date and Time: 2006-07-19 10:48:00

Written By: Steve B.

Copyright: 2006

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Anxiety -- Is It a Problem for You? 7 questions provide the answer

Copyright © 2006 Steve B.

Psychotherapy Center

http://www.psychotherapy-center.com

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is " one of the most common

anxiety problems seen in general medical practices. " Physicians

are likely to see between 2.8% and 8.5% of their patients

suffering from this type of anxiety, according to a national

survey (1).

Fortunately, this is just the type of problem that many of the

new advances in psychotherapy (such as the REMAP process, EFT and

EMDR) are excellent at treating. Yet too often, anxiety related

issues are neither diagnosed nor treated. What's been missing,

until now, is a simple and easily available way to spot the

symptoms and level of intensity that warrants a referral for

treatment.

The solution to this problem now appears to be at hand.

L. Spitzer, MD (and colleagues) report on their development of a

new, quick and effective tool to measure anxiety in the May 22,

2006 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine (2). The

anxiety inventory is called the GAD-7 (the Generalized Anxiety

Disorder-7 questions).

The researchers conclude that the " GAD-7 is a valid and efficient

tool " to screen for anxiety and to assess " its severity in

clinical practice and research. " What's most impressive is that

you can do this by answering seven short questions. All the

patient needs to do is read the seven questions and pick one of

four possible answers. Each question has a number value (0-3).

Add the numbers and you quickly arrive at a score between 0 and

21.

The researchers find that a score of 10 or higher means that a

significant level of anxiety is present. Scores over 15 are

considered severe. In the study they find that people diagnosed

with GAD have an average score of 14.4 while people without GAD

average only 4.9.

Their study also points out the effect on people's lives when

they suffer from this level of anxiety.

During a three month period, 47% of the people who scored in the

highest anxiety category suffered difficulties as a result of

their symptoms. They also had twice the number of physician

visits and took over four times the number of sick days from

work. The complete details from that portion of the study are

listed below.

Group averages during 3 months:

anxiety score - disability days - physician visits - % of symptom

related difficulty

0-4 3.9 1.2 15.0

5-9 7.9 1.7 5.5

10-14 10.7 2.2 13.7

15-21 16.8 2.4 47.4

Percent of symptom related difficulty refers to the response

to one additional question-- " How difficult have these

problems made it for you to do your work, take care of

things at home or get along with other people? " (Not at

all; Somewhat difficult; Very difficult or Extremely

difficult)

Notably, 96% of patients in the study with GAD-7 scores of 10 or

greater have been experiencing symptoms for a month or more.

And, 67% have been suffering from symptoms for 6 months or

longer. This suggests that many people are not being diagnosed

or getting treatment. This tool may help physicians to make

appropriate referrals for mental health care and help

psychotherapists to be alert to the need to focus treatment on

this issue.

A number of patients with symptoms of high anxiety (according to

the GAD-7) score low on depression symptoms. This suggests that

the dimensions of anxiety and depression need to be assessed

separately because they do not always coexist.

The authors also point-out that as the symptoms of anxiety

increase in severity, patients have correspondingly greater

" impairment in multiple domains of functioning " . The authors

believe that the GAD-7 can help identify patients with " disabling

anxiety " that will benefit from treatment.

The GAD-7 (developed by Dr. L. Spitzer, Dr. K. Kroenke,

and colleagues2) provides a reliable brief scale to identify

Generalized Anxiety Disorder and to measure the severity of its

symptoms. It can help psychotherapists, physicians and even

potential patients to know if further assessment and possible

treatment is needed.

By now you are probably wondering, " What are these 7 revealing

questions? " Okay, let's look at them and see how you score.

Read each question and think about how often you have felt

bothered by these symptoms during the past two weeks. There are

four possible choices: 0 = not at all, 1 = several days, 2 = more

than half the days, and 3 = nearly everyday. Write down the

number that corresponds to the best answer for each.

1. Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge?

2. Not being able to stop or control worrying?

3. Worrying too much about different things?

4. Trouble relaxing?

5. Being so restless that it is hard to sit still?

6. Becoming easily annoyed or irritable?

7. Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen?

Scoring: Add the results for each question to get a total score.

Scores above 10 indicate that you may need to consult a licensed

mental health care provider for further assessment and possible

treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.

REFERENCES:

1. Wittchen HU, Zhao S, Kessler RC, Eaton WW. DSM-III-R

generalized anxiety disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1994;51:355-364.

2. Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, JB, Lowe B. A Brief Measure

for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The GAD-7. [Journal

Article] Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(10):1092-7.

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Steve B. , LPC, LMSW, LMFT is a psychotherapist that

specializes in treating trauma and anxiety disorders including

social phobia. He treats people at his , Texas

office (Dallas area) and through phone counseling worldwide.

You can reach Steve at 972-997-9955 or through his website at:

http://www.psychotherapy-center.com

copyright 1998-2006, Steve B.