Psych: Anxiety Disorder: Free MSRA Podcast

🎧 FREE MSRA PODCAST – Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)Your complete, high-yield guide to mastering GAD for MSRA revision! 🧠💊📝🧠 Key Learning Points📌 DefinitionGAD = chronic, excessive worry about multiple areas of life (not just one trigger). Symptoms persist for ≥6 months, impact function, and aren't due to physical illness or substances.ICD-10: anxiety + ≥4 symptom categories (autonomic, physical, mental, tension, cognitive).📌 Causes & Risk Factors🔍 Multifactorial:• Genetics, childhood adversity• Neurotransmitter imbalances: ↓serotonin, ↓GABA, ↑norepinephrine• Overactive amygdala + HPA axis⚠️ Risk factors:• Female sex• Life stress, trauma, chronic illness• Low education, lone parenting, poor health• Family or personal history of anxiety📌 Symptoms• Persistent worry, restlessness, irritability• Poor concentration, fatigue, muscle tension• Palpitations, dry mouth, sweating• Sleep issues, shortness of breath🧠 Psychological + physical overlap📌 Differential Diagnosis• Other mental health conditions: panic disorder, OCD, PTSD, phobias• Medical causes: hyperthyroidism, cardiac disease, asthma• Substance misuse or withdrawal✅ Diagnosis = by exclusion📌 Investigations🩺 No specific test for GAD.Tests are to rule out mimics:• FBC, U&Es, TFTs• ECG (if palpitations)• Further tests if indicated by symptoms📊 Screening tool: GAD-7 (not diagnostic, used for severity)📌 Management (NICE Stepwise)🪜 Step 1: Education + monitoring🪜 Step 2: Low-intensity CBT, guided self-help🪜 Step 3: High-intensity CBT or medication🪜 Step 4: Specialist referral if resistant💊 First-line medication:• SSRI (e.g. sertraline)If ineffective:• SNRI (e.g. venlafaxine, duloxetine)• Pregabalin if others not tolerated❌ Avoid long-term benzodiazepines due to dependency risk🧘‍♂️ Adjuncts: exercise, mindfulness, yoga📅 Continue treatment for ≥12 months post-remission📌 Prognosis• Chronic but manageable• Often waxes and wanes• Better outlook with early, tailored treatment📈 Long-term monitoring essential📌 Complications• Social/occupational impairment• Depression, substance misuse• Risk of self-harm or suicide• Chronic stress-related physical illness📎 Useful Resources for Anxiety Disorder (MSRA)📝 Revision Notes:https://www.passthemsra.com/topic/anxiety-disorder-revision-notes/🧠 Flashcards:https://www.passthemsra.com/topic/anxiety-disorder-flashcards/💬 Accordion Q&A Notes:https://www.passthemsra.com/topic/anxiety-disorder-accordion-qa-notes/🚀 Rapid Quiz:https://www.passthemsra.com/topic/anxiety-disorder-rapid-quiz/🧪 Topic Quiz:https://www.passthemsra.com/quizzes/anxiety-disorder/🎓 Full Psychiatry Course:https://www.passthemsra.com/courses/psychiatry-for-the-msra/#MSRA #GAD #AnxietyDisorder #PsychiatryMSRA #MSRAFlashcards #MSRAQuiz #MSRARevisionNotes #PassTheMSRA #MSRAQuestionBank #MSRATextbook #CBT #GAD7