Different Faces of Worry - Handling Generalized Anxiety
date: 2024-11-02
author: Ivana Mrgan

Feeling nervous, on edge and worried is part of being human. We all feel overwhelmed and anxious sometimes. Some of us even more with the end of the year or holidays approaching. We reflect on challenges and growth, make plans, hope for the best and sometimes even grieve. All packed in this bundle of messy and raw life we live. As beautifully summed up by Dr Steven C. Hayes, "We hurt where we care and care where we hurt".
That said, some people experience excessive and uncontrollable worry that can interfere with their daily lives. If anything, that kind of worry props up in situations in an unhelpful and burdening way. Today, we are focusing on that kind of worry as it can rob you of experiencing joy and keep you preoccupied, tense and fatigued.
As generalized anxiety is the mean big brother of worry, it could be useful to reflect on this complex relationship to make sense of it and then recognize if our worry is something to be worried about. Worry is a mental verbal problem-solving strategy focused on potentially negative future events. It can show up with a lot of 'what ifs' and sound like: "What if this does not work out? What if I don’t get a raise? What if the kids don’t fit in at the new school? What if I don’t finish this year?". Sounds familiar? So far so good.
Helpful worry can help us to plan and modify our approach and actions to make things easier and/or better. It is short-lived and leads to proactive and productive behaviours. And unhelpful worry, you might ask? Not so much.
Generalized anxiety takes the shape of excessive, uncontrollable worry that has been present most days of the week during the last six months and interferes with everyday functionality. It also comes with restlessness, fatigue, impaired concentration, sleep issues and muscle tension. An estimated 4-7% of adults experience a generalized anxiety disorder at some time during their lives.
Most people with generalized anxiety reflect that their difficulties started in adolescence. If untreated, it can have chronic quality. Moreover, it frequently co-occurs with other mental health conditions, for example, depression or other anxiety disorders. Some research suggests that generalized anxiety may run in the family and that it may grow worse during stressful periods. If you are currently going through repatriation or relocation, take extra care of yourself.