Diagnosing GAD is done through a psychological evaluation performed by a clinician, after ruling out other potential causes of symptoms such as medication, drugs, other anxiety disorders, or other medical conditions.[1] The psychological evaluation is typically based on diagnostic criteria set by a publication such as the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). In 2022, 5.2% of Canadians 15 years and older met the diagnostic criteria for GAD.[2] The diagnostic criteria for GAD in the DSM 5th edition are:
- Excessive, difficult-to control, frequent anxiety and worry about multiple different events or activities; and
- the anxiety/worries cause distress or difficulty functioning; and
- the anxiety/worries are associated with at least three of the following additional symptoms:
- restlessness
- fatigue
- difficulty concentrating
- irritability
- muscle tension
- sleep disturbances.
To be diagnosed as GAD, the anxiety and worries must have happened more days than not for at least six months and have been about multiple different events and activities. Additionally, the diagnosis of GAD can only be made if the symptoms can't be better explained by the effects of a medication or drug, by another medical condition, or by another mental disorder.[3]