The More the Unmerrier: Birds of a Feather Mock Together
GAD stands for generalized anxiety disorder, an exaggerated state of persistent worrying that is uncontrollable and impairing, occurring more than 50% of the time over at least 6 months. It arises from genetic, neuropsychological, and developmental/personality factors.
Unfortunately, the majority of people (two-thirds) with GAD also have major depression or other anxiety disorders, such as social anxiety disorder (SAD), specific phobia, or panic disorder. It can also be seen with substance abuse, PTSD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.1 Like the flock of birds alighting on the jungle gym in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, the more there are, the more vicious the attack.
Comorbidities often seen with GAD3
Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
Also known as social phobia, SAD is an extreme fear of situations subject to scrutiny by others. A person with SAD fears embarrassment or humiliation, so endures these si ...
Eliquis vs Xarelto, Pradaxa, Coumadin, and Aspirin
“Blood thinner” is a misleading term. What is implied is that it dilutes the thickness of the blood, such that very thick accumulations (clots) won’t happen. In reality, blood thinners alter the body’s clotting mechanism at the cellular level. To make a clot, there is a cascade of changes—a falling of dominoes. What blood thinners do is interfere with that cascade—pick up one domino so that the sequential falls are stopped at that blank spot.
It’s not like self-sealing antifreeze
Clotting is the body’s way of self-sealing. Because it is also involved in repair of damaged tissue, initiating of healing, and an integral part of the entire inflammatory process, it is not like Silly Putty or self-sealing antifreeze.
Clotting is tricky: too much and blood won’t flow (as in a blood clot in a vein); too little and blood flows too much, flooding tissues destructively (as ...
