One of the most common forms of long-term anxiety is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). It’s not about panic attacks or specific fears — it’s about chronic, persistent worry that doesn’t go away, even when things are objectively fine.
What Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
GAD is more than feeling nervous. It’s a condition characterized by excessive, ongoing worry that is difficult to control. People with GAD often describe it as “my mind never stops.” The worry can shift from one topic to another — health, finances, relationships, the future — often jumping from one imagined threat to the next.
Even when things are going well, there’s a sense that something could go wrong. This mental state is exhausting — and it’s often accompanied by physical symptoms such as:
- Restlessness or feeling on edge
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbances (difficulty falling or staying asleep)
- Trouble concentrating
- Fatigue
- Physical discomfort, such as a tight chest, stomach tension, or a racing heart
These symptoms aren’t “just in your head.” They’re the body’s response to ongoing perceived threat — a nervous system stuck in alert mode.
What Causes GAD?
There isn’t a single cause. Like most mental health issues, GAD is the result of a combination of factors:
Biological predisposition (some people are more sensitive to stress or have a more reactive nervous system)
Family environment (growing up in a high-stress or emotionally unpredictable home can shape our internal sense of safety)
Learned thinking patterns (such as catastrophizing, perfectionism, or intolerance of uncertainty)
Personality traits (such as high responsibility, people-pleasing, or chronic self-monitoring)
In many cases, the person with GAD is highly functional — hardworking, thoughtful, reliable. But beneath the surface, there’s an ongoing sense of pressure, fear, or mental tension that never seems to switch off.
Why General Anxiety Often Goes Unnoticed
One of the challenges of GAD is that it often flies under the radar. Unlike panic attacks or phobias, GAD doesn’t always come with dramatic symptoms. Instead, it presents as “being overly responsible,” “overthinking everything,” or “just being the anxious type.”
In fact, many people with GAD have lived with it for so long that they don’t even realize it’s a treatable condition. They think it’s just who they are.
But chronic anxiety is not a personality trait. It’s a pattern. And patterns can change.
How I Work With Anxiety in Therapy
One of the most effective approaches for treating GAD is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In my work, I use CBT as a foundation to help clients:
- Learn to recognize the thinking habits that drive anxiety (e.g., worst-case-scenario thinking, “what if” spirals, or black-and-white thinking)
- Build tolerance for uncertainty, instead of trying to control every variable
- Break the cycle of avoidance that keeps anxiety going
- Use exposure techniques to gradually reduce the fear of discomfort or loss of control
- Learn body-based tools for calming the nervous system (e.g., breathwork, muscle relaxation, or grounding techniques)
In addition to CBT, I also integrate tools from schema therapy, REBT, and emotion-focused approaches to get to the deeper emotional patterns that fuel chronic worry. For some clients, we explore perfectionism or fear of failure. For others, we address early experiences that shaped their internal sense of safety or worth.
One of the most powerful moments in therapy is when a client realizes: “I don’t have to believe every thought my mind throws at me.” That’s a turning point. Because for people with GAD, thoughts often feel like facts. And worry feels like preparation.
But therapy helps us see that chronic worry doesn’t actually protect us — it drains us. It narrows our attention, exhausts our body, and erodes our peace of mind. And once we start changing our response to anxious thoughts — not trying to stop them, but no longer obeying them — something begins to shift.
You’re not weak. Your system is doing its job — just too much of It.
Anxiety is not a sign of weakness. In fact, many people with GAD are deeply caring, intelligent, and responsible. But their nervous system is simply working overtime — scanning for danger, trying to stay ahead of possible problems, preparing for everything that could go wrong.
In therapy, we help that system come back into balance. We teach the mind that it’s allowed to rest. That not every thought is an emergency. And that it’s safe to be present — even when life is uncertain.
If you recognize yourself in this post – you’re not alone. And you don’t have to live like this forever. Therapy can help you understand your anxiety, work with it instead of against it, and begin building a different relationship to your thoughts, emotions, and body.
I work with clients who are ready to stop managing their anxiety and start transforming it. If you’re constantly overthinking, if your mind never rests, if you feel like you’re always waiting for the next thing to go wrong — know that help is available. You don’t have to “figure it out” alone.
