The term situational anxiety disorder is often mistakenly used to refer to a condition better known as generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, for short. There is no medically recognized disorder known as situational anxiety disorder. But there are two different anxiety issues that situational anxiety disorder may be confused with:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Situational Phobias

This article will describe generalized anxiety disorder how to recognize it, what it is caused by, and effective methods that can be used to overcome it. It will also touch on the idea of situational phobias.

Signs of Trouble - The Symptoms of GAD

Often when someone refers to situational anxiety disorder, they are referring instead to Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This is a disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable anxiety triggered by numerous and varying stimuli, rather than a singular stimulus. The anxiety can be exacerbated by the symptoms of the anxiety itself. Pay attention to symptoms such as:

• Irritability
• Edginess
• Muscle tension
• Muscle (particularly chest) aches
• Tension headaches
• Difficulty sleeping
• Fatigue

The vicious cycle of anxiety causing symptoms that cause further anxiety is, in part, why this disorder is so difficult to overcome or control.

When the above symptoms persist with regularity over a period of at least 6 months in such a way that is disruptive to your life, keeping you from doing the things you want or need to do and causing you undue psychological distress, you may have generalized anxiety disorder.

The Reasons Underlying Your Anxiety

Anxiety isn't something that can be easily pinpointed to any one specific cause. Anxiety often is affected by multiple factors - so many, in fact, that figuring out what initially lead to anxiety may be impossible. Still, persistent and situational anxiety can be caused by multiple factors, including:

• First, generalized anxiety often has to do with your personal beliefs and thought patterns surrounding the situations and objects you encounter in your daily life. Problematic thinking patterns and way of interpreting your experiences can lead to anxiety and negative emotional states more generally. Figuring out precisely what these problematic beliefs and thought patterns are may require the assistance of a therapist.
• Second, you may be making lifestyle choices that cause you stress, or finding yourself in stressful situations more often than is healthy. Examples include drinking too much caffeine, the use of drugs or alcohol, unhealthy lifestyle choices or putting too much pressure on yourself to perform. These are also issues that a therapist can help you to recognize and deal with, but can also be discovered through meditation and self-reflection. They can be positively affected by lifestyle changes you make yourself once you recognize the factors in your life that are causing you stress.
• Third, your brain may be experiencing a chemical imbalance. This may be inherited, due to natural hormonal shifts or linked to an accompanying psychological disorder such as depression; or it may be the result of the factors listed above. Scientists aren’t exactly sure whether chemical imbalances cause anxiety disorders or whether anxiety disorders lead to chemical imbalances, but it’s clear that the two are closely interlinked.

Chemical imbalances linked to anxiety are typically characterized by lowered levels of the chemical known as serotonin. Serotonin is linked to feelings of relaxation and happiness. Some people are born with naturally low levels of serotonin, and others develop an imbalance over time, possible as a result of the above factors.

In such cases, you’re more likely to experience the effects of stress and less likely to benefit from the effects of chemicals such as serotonin. Essentially, this perpetuates the cycle of stress and anxiety. Increasing serotonin levels in the body can be achieved chemically, by way of prescription drugs or supplements, or it can be achieved by making healthy lifestyle changes.