Ask the therapist: Is your teen suffering from anxiety disorder?

I’m a 15-year-old girl who suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). I have always been told that it is all in my mind and that I am over analysing a situation so much that it causes me to have a panic attack. Are there any other factors that can cause GAD? How can I deal with it on a day-to-day basis? — Name Withheld

Thank you for writing in about your generalised anxiety disorder. Using this very specialised mental health term tells me that either you have been officially diagnosed, or you might have read up on your symptoms and self-diagnosed your anxiety.

The key symptom of GAD is the overthinking. Most thought processes revolve around “What if” questions and fears about worst case scenarios. What if I go to school and nobody talks to me? What if I am the last person chosen to play on a team? Each of us deal with unique sets of worries about different aspects in our lives.

Anxiety and panic attacks can go hand in hand. A diagnosis of panic disorder is established when panic attacks are both frequent and severe. Your fight and flight mechanism is activated which causes the physiological symptoms you experience, when you are having a panic attack. Genetic factors, stress, life challenges, and life-style issues, such as lack of sleep and relaxation, can trigger GAD.

I suggest you seek professional mental health care services so you can be assessed and diagnosed. A psychologist can do cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with you to help you restructure your thinking so that you can change how you feel and behave.

If the assessment shows that you are overthinking and panic attack symptoms are debilitating, you should seek a psychiatric assessment to determine if medication is needed.

Dr Schonder is an integrated therapist at https://chmc-dubai.com

• Dubai