Q My worry hasn't stopped for over 6 months. Is this an anxiety disorder?
A If uncontrollable worry across multiple areas of daily life persists for 6 months or more, it meets the diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
Detailed Answer
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a mental health condition in which excessive and difficult-to-control worry about various areas such as work, health, family, and finances continues for 6 months or longer. Worldwide, about 5-6% of adults experience it at least once in their lifetime, and it is twice as common in women as in men. Muscle tension, fatigue, sleep disturbance, poor concentration, and irritability are core symptoms, and three or more of these are typically present together.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At Dongjedang, we view GAD as a combined state of Liver-qi stagnation (gangi-ulgyeol) and Heart-Gallbladder Deficiency (simdam-heogeop). When the liver loses its function of coursing and dispersing qi (soseol), the suppressed qi accumulates and manifests as chronic worry; when the gallbladder qi (damgi) becomes weak, a person is easily frightened and anxious even over small matters. Through pattern-identification (byeonjeung) consultation, we distinguish whether the condition is a simple stress reaction or GAD arising from an organ imbalance.
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