Generalized anxiety disorder: a psychological disorder caused by worrying about getting cancer

Generalized anxiety disorder: a psychological disorder caused by worrying about getting cancer

Original 2021-10-21 09:40 · Health Cloud Science Popularization

Aunt Yu has been very worried recently. The reason is that she went to the hospital for a physical examination one month ago, and the report showed that her tumor marker CA125 had increased to 38U/mL. After searching on Baidu, she learned that this is a marker related to ovarian cancer.

Aunt Yu couldn't understand why she had a tumor when she was only 51 years old and had a healthy body. She remembered that her mother died of ovarian cancer, so would she be the same? Thinking of this, Aunt Yu couldn't help but worry.

Aunt Yu's daughter saw her worry and comforted her, "Mom, an increase in tumor markers does not necessarily mean that you have a tumor. It could be caused by other reasons. Let's make an appointment with a specialist first."

Although Aunt Yu promised her daughter that she would be more relaxed, she kept thinking about it in the days before the treatment. Even when her granddaughter came home from school and she looked at her innocent face, she would think, "If I really get a tumor and have to be hospitalized and have chemotherapy, who will pick up my granddaughter in the future?" As she thought about it, her worries increased.

Even before going to sleep, Aunt Yu would inevitably think of this incident. The worries about the future kept popping up in her head and could not be stopped. Her heart beat very fast, causing Aunt Yu tossing and turning and unable to fall asleep. She often had to wait until the early morning to fall asleep. When she had nothing to do, Aunt Yu could not sit still and always wanted to stand up and walk a few steps to relieve the uneasy feeling in her heart.

Days passed, and finally the day for the appointment arrived. After understanding Aunt Yu's condition, the doctor prescribed B-ultrasound, CT and other examinations for her. The reports reported that no obvious abnormalities were found. The doctor comforted Aunt Yu and asked her to come back for a follow-up visit in three months.

After the consultation, Aunt Yu felt relieved and no longer thought about ovarian cancer. She slept well that day.

But gradually, Aunt Yu found that she had insomnia again. At first, she thought that she had to go for a follow-up visit early the next morning and she had to remember to get up early, so she couldn't sleep. Later, she was worried that she had forgotten to pick up her granddaughter from kindergarten. Later, even though there was nothing special to do the next day, Aunt Yu would still suffer from insomnia. She even had a faster heartbeat, rapid breathing, hot body, and sweating. Even after falling asleep, she was easily woken up.

During the day, Aunt Yu always felt nervous, uneasy and fearful, but she couldn't tell what she was worried about. She often felt restless and went to the toilet more frequently than before.

Aunt Yu felt particularly tired and had lost weight recently, so she began to worry whether her symptoms were related to the tumor. So she took the opportunity to describe her symptoms in detail to the doctor during the 6-month follow-up visit. After listening to her, the doctor told Aunt Yu that she had generalized anxiety disorder and needed to seek treatment in a psychiatric department. Aunt Yu suddenly realized the truth.

Everyone experiences anxiety. Anxiety is a diffuse, unpleasant, vague feeling of nervousness that occurs in response to an unknown, internal, ambiguous threat.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental disorder with anxiety as its main clinical manifestation. Patients often have unexplained fear and nervousness, significant symptoms of autonomic dysfunction, muscle tension and motor restlessness.

Patients often recognize that these worries are excessive and inappropriate but are unable to control them and find them unbearably distressing. The following criteria are required for diagnosis:

01Excessive anxiety and worry on most days about areas that are difficult to control, such as work and school performance;

02 Physical symptoms, such as restlessness, feeling agitated or nervous, easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances;

03Autonomic dysfunction (such as hyperventilation and tachycardia);

04Usually lasts at least 6 months.

Why don't you check yourself and see if you have GAD? Is there a reason why you suddenly become so fearful? If you really have such a situation, go to the psychiatric department and let the psychiatrist help you get out of trouble and welcome a better future.

References

[1] Hao Wei, Lu Lin (eds.). Psychiatry (8th edition). Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2018.

[2] Craske MG, Stein MB, Eley TC, et al. Anxiety disorders [J]. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17024. Published 2017 May 4. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.24

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Author: Wang Yun, Shanghai Mental Health Center

About the Author

Wang Yun

Master of Medicine, Attending Physician, Shanghai Mental Health Center

Has been engaged in clinical diagnosis and treatment of psychiatry and teaching of medical students for a long time

2019 Outstanding Teacher of Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University

Secretary of the CSNP Chinese Depression Researchers Alliance

The first author has published more than ten papers in domestic and foreign journals

Expertise: Clinical diagnosis and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders, neurosis, schizophrenia, and consultation on general psychological issues such as study, work, marriage and love.

Clinic hours: Psychiatry on Tuesday morning, psychological counseling on Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Funded by Shanghai Science and Technology Commission's Science Popularization Project

(Project No.: 20DZ2311100)