My sister (25 y/o) just got clinically diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Does this mean that I might suffer from that in the future too?
Hello! I’m sorry to hear about your sister’s diagnosis. It is true that GAD is 6 times more common among first degree relatives, but there are still other factors at play too:
- Early experiences: such as insecure attachment to your caregiver from childhood, child abuse
- Social causes: stressful events
- Medical illnesses: such as hyperthyroidism, hypoglycaemia, phaeochromocytoma etc.
If you feel that you may have some signs of anxiety, I would recommend that you do a self check-in found in mindline.sg
Another thing! Some of the physical effects of anxiety (should you wish to find out) include:
- Dizziness
- Increased muscle tension
- Rapid breathing
- Heart palpitations
- Increased blood pressure