Eventually, you might begin to worry about worrying. That is, because you see yourself as an anxious person who can't handle stress very well, you develop additional anticipatory anxiety when you must face a stressful situation. Many primary care physicians treat generalized anxiety disorder exclusively by prescribing anti-anxiety medications, especially the benzodiazepines, rather than referring the person for psychotherapy. However, these drugs are not without risk. They cause impairment of cognitive functioning, including reaction time.
Many individuals experience rebound anxiety if they abruptly stop taking the medications.
Research has also suggested that the benzodiazepines may produce functional changes in the central nervous system that make it difficult for people to withdraw from these drugs. Generalized anxiety disorder is not a biological problem, it is a psychological problem with pronounced physical symptoms. It requires psychological treatment, most often a combination of behavioral and cognitive therapy. Psychologists have used behavioral treatment effectively to teach individuals how to reduce their anxiety through relaxation exercises. Cognitive therapy techniques help identify and change the expectations you might have that triggers anxiety.