Generalized Anxiety
Kate was driving on a busy road when suddenly there was a traffic jam. Kate knew that she had to get to her work pretty early, since her boss did not like people being late. She started to worry about her being late and her boss getting mad at her. She wished that the traffic jam would hurry up a little bit so that she can get to her work faster.
Is this generalized anxiety disorder?
No, this would not mean that Kate has GAD. In this scenario, Kate is worrying about something that could realistically happen, and her worry only shows the concern she has for real outcomes of her being late.
Samantha was shopping at a grocery store when she saw that she was next in line to get her items checked out. She didn't know why, but her stomach started getting this unbearable pain. She didn't know why, and when it was finally her turn, the cashier asked her a question and her mind went completely blank. She started to sweat and noticed her hands were shaking as she was putting her items onto the conveyor belt.
This is social anxiety.
Scenario: Amy was hanging out at her friends house and was in her friend's room. When she picked up her phone and looked at the time, it was almost time for sunset. She never wanted to be out at night, so she looked up from her phone and said, "Sorry Josie! I need to head home now. It was nice of you to let me stay at your house for a while.". She grabbed her stuff and quickly hurried out the door. By the time she was outside, darkness was already starting to spread across the sky. Amy knew she had to get home. It felt like the night was already starting to eat her alive.
Yes, this is a phobia.
It is: Noctiphobia or fear of the night
Abby was at an event that her friend's parents had invited her to. Her parents told Abby that they would only be away for a few minutes. Abby was fine with that at the moment, but when minutes began to pass and her parents didn't arrive, Abby began to worry that they wouldn't come back. Since she was speaking with somebody, she did not want to stop listening to them, but she looked down at her hands and noticed they were starting to shake. Abby stuck her hands into her shirt's pockets and tried to stay put, but couldn't help but feel extremely restless.
This is separation anxiety.
Violet swung her backpack over her shoulder and into her mother's car. She buckled her seatbelt and her mother started the car and went down the driveway. Violet suddenly had this urge to vomit and she looked over at her mother desperately. "Mom, did you pack the puke bucket?". Her mother shook her head, "Sorry hun, not this time. I was a bit rushed today". She unzipped her backpack and got out her book. She wanted to find out a solution so that she would not actually throw up. She opened the page where she left her bookmark and started to read. A few minutes later, the feeling to vomit started to die down. She was happy to find a solution and by that time she was already at school. Violet asked herself if there are any other techniques to help with her anxiety in case she didn't bring a book the rest of the week. What are some ideas?
Examples: Read a book, talking to others in the car, distracting yourself (window, game, playing ISpy), rub your stomach, deep breathing, meditation, talk yourself through the thoughts, eat something healthy.
Sophie sat on her bed wondering what she could do tomorrow. Something clicked in her brain and she remembered she had a test. She began to worry about if she studied enough or if she would do good on the test. She was also worried if she would get a good grade or if her parents would get mad at her. Her brain began to spiral with thoughts about what would happen if she did bad on this test. She started to become shaky and sweaty. She climbed out of her bed to check if she finished her homework and studying for the test. She thought it was weird she was so worried because she knew she had put in the work to do well on this test.
Is this GAD?
Yes, this is generalized anxiety disorder because Sophie began worrying about everyday things such as a test that she has. Although many students may worry about a test, Sophie was experiencing heightened symptoms of anxiety like breaking into a sweat and becoming shaky. She also could not control her worried thoughts.
Charlotte was one of the MC's for this years "Variety Show" at her school. The variety shows were hosted once per year, and fifth graders could choose to be stage crew or MC. Charlotte thought she would be good at talking to a bunch of people in a crowd. About a week or so passed and she got called down to the gym to discuss how the show would run and get her script for the show. The school started entering the room where the variety show was held, and she got into her position with the other MC's in another class. Charlotte began feeling bored staring at her script, and she started to worry how she was going to say all of this perfectly in front of such a large crowd. She looked up and noticed many classes had entered the room, and more were coming. She began to freak out about how many words, sentences, and jokes she would have to make. She realized how long she would have to be up there, and thought it might even be awkward. Charlotte wondered if the other MC's were worried about this too!
Is this social anxiety?
Yes, Charlotte is experiencing social anxiety because she was concerned that she might slip up on her words, panic on stage, or not being able to do her act for as long as she needed to. It caused her severe anxiety.
Willa got stranded on an island one day because her village was afraid of her powers and the only way to escape the island was to escape on a raft. But Willa, she was terrified of the ocean. She didn't know why, but just thinking about the ocean made her insides crawl. Every time she looked at it, she would look at all of the creatures hidden inside the water that she could not see.
What type of phobia/fear is this?
Phobia: Thalassophobia or fear of the ocean
Amelia had just finished school for the week and the weekend had finally began. She felt a little sad leaving her friends at pick up, but she knew that she would see them again on Monday. She remembered that it was not going to be that big of a deal, and when she was driving home, she talked to her Dad about her day there. When she got home, she ran upstairs straight to her room and read her book. Her and her friend began a book club together. As she read the book, she thought about her friend and how she wished she planned a play date or sleepover, whichever her mom preferred, so that she could see her friend over the weekend. It usually gets boring sitting around her house all day.
Is this separation anxiety disorder?
No, this is not SAD. Amelia simply misses her friend, but it does not cause the amount of distress that separation anxiety would cause somebody.
Bella's mom had told her multiple times to clean her room because her room was really dirty and clothes littered the floor. There were books everywhere! Bella knew she had to clean her room, but every time she wanted to clean it, she also wanted to do something else the very moment she tried to get up and clean. She also did not like to be pressured to do things either. One day, Bella came up with the thought. "maybe I should put on some music?!", since that day she found a music artist she really liked. She put some music on and started to clean. Time went really fast, faster than expected. An hour or two past and she felt like she wanted to clean even more because while she was cleaning, she was able to dance and sing to the music while cleaning. When her mom came in, she was really proud of Bella because she cleaned her room!
Task Paralysis Tips: Listening to music, count to 60 seconds and get up, tell myself "don't set it down, put it where it belongs", imagine yourself completing the task, combine a fun task with a challenging task.