[Pink3032]

Has anyone ever recovered from Generalized Anxiety .I had it all my life and decided 3years ago to go to counseling to get control over my anxiety. Can you recover from Gad.

[Travelinglady]

Hello, Pink0232, and welcome to Psych Central! That's a good question. I also have GAD. I just found out I had this diagnosis recently. I am getting better about not letting things worry me and I take Klonopin.

I will try to ask my therapist when I see her, if I remember!

[cherrykix]

I don't know if it is a thing you can recover from. I can't really answer that sorry!

I have GAD as well, have had it my whole life (my earliest memories are of my GAD and my panic disorder) and started therapy/medication for it when I was 12.

I think you can definitely get a handle on it, and overcome it, but I'm not sure if it ever truly goes away. I have managed to not let it affect my daily life anymore, but I still feel it.

-cherrykix

[tradika]

I think with proper treatment you can definitely go into remission from GAD. I would imagine many people no longer fit the criteria after intensive treatment. I wouldn't mark them as "cured" in the traditional sense though.

[Pink3032]

Im also on a. Medication for gad be i only take it if i need to.Thats something that i have to work on too is not
Worrying so much.Its a hard to do when worry is associated with anxiety.

I have GAD. I take Klonopin [clonazepam] and I'm trying Lexapro [escitalopram]. I might stop the Lexapro because of my bipolar disorder. You have to come up with strategies for handling anxiety.

[SillyKitty]

I have gad. Had it for years. I'm on Klonopin and ativan prn. I don't know if I still have it, but I imagine I do. Schizoaffective is a more recent diagnosis. I don't think that covers my high level of anxiety. I think you can go into a recession and have periods further apart, but I doubt you can cure it, so to speak.

[heyhey.im.j]

Yes.I got a book written by a man who suffered anxiety and panic for 10 years, I read it and was absolutely amazed. It actually tells why and what you're feeling in detail. Please go get it, its called "At last a life" by Paul David. If you can't get the book right away I would at least recommend looking at his website. Its, anxietynomore.co.uk
I've had panic and anxiety attacks for the same length of time, most of my troubles were why I was feeling this way and what's really going on, the book is not written by another doctor trying to make a quick dollar at sufferers expense, its a real guy with the same scary thoughts/images, attacks and how to overcome all of these symptoms. Its not an overnight "cure" cause those don't exist and he explains everything in detail. Also included, which I find to be extremely helpful, is a collection of emails from actual sufferers thoughts and feelings, they really helped assure me that I wasn't alone or crazy forhaving the same scary thoughts and disturbing images that just won't stop or go away no matter how hard I tried. I cannot stress enough here and its not just another anxiety book, look at the website first, then get the book. You are not alone and I can't even begin to say how much its helped me in just a weeks time. The understanding what and why you feel the way you do was an eye opener. If this isn't convincing enough, have you wondered why you feel so forgetful, you feel like you're in a fog, or not connected to yourself, maybe some blurred vision or just feel in a weird daze, thas called dissassociation, and its all explained in the book and also a little on the website. Please go read it!

[stages]

Yeah, Ive seen people recover from an anxiety disorder. From my observations, this usually happens with disorders that started later in life, so it's more of an 'event' so to speak, although of course it's still serious and can last years

For anxiety thats more of a chronic condition, the success stories I see most commonly arent a 'recovery' but a 'remission'. What I mean is is that its common to relapse and have the anxiety come back, but usually, not that soon, not as much, and not for as long, plus you have experience battling it.

I think they call it 'remission' when you go off medication and you're still okay, if youre on medication and ok then its a 'successful treatment' or something. I think remission is a very positive goal to strive for, basically yes you can improve so much you dont have a problem, without "curing" the underlying condition so theres a chance of it coming back, but that's ok. No one can be perfect, but we can be better, if we find the way that works best for us

I prefer thinking this way because it isn't possible to determine if you're recovered or in remission without knowing the future. i assume it's remission, so if relapse happens it wont come as much of a shock. shooting for optimism with just enough pessimism to cushion me if things do go wrong