The Life of Charlie Cheswick (GAD)

By: Charnice Culmer

Liara Vinson

Definition

General Anxiety Disorder is also known as GAD.

GAD is an anxiety disorder.

General Anxiety Disorder occurs when a person has excessive and exaggerated worries and concerns for situations that are of everyday concern, or no reason at all diagnosed after 6 months

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Generalized Anxiety Disorder, huh? People with GAD usually

expect situations to go wrong.

They find themselves obsessing about things like money, health, family, care, etc.

“The last time I was relaxed was.. Uhhhh?”

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Why is this important?

On One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Charlie Cheswick had Generalized Anxiety Disorder. It is important because generalized anxiety disorder can stop one from leading a normal life as seen in the movie when Charlie Cheswick signs himself into a mental institution. It poses a threat to one’s happiness and it could lead to other psychological disorders, such as depression, which can lead to suicide. This disorder can also cause a great amount of stress, which can lead to illness and eventually, death.

Prevalence

50% of all cases begin in childhood or adolescence.

1-year prevalence range from 3% to 8%. 2.80% (7.6 million) people in USA About 2.8% (4 million) of the adult U.S.

population ages (18 to 54) during given year. 7,615,999 per year, 634,666 per month,

146,461 per week, 20,865 per day, 869 per hour, 14 per minute (Incidence extrapolations for the USA)

Twice as many women as men.

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Symptoms(Charlie is always uncomfortable) Vary and occur in different

combinations but one would have three (3) or more if suffering from GAD

Excessive occurrences of these should concern you:

Difficulty Concentrating Excessive worrying Easily Startled and Scared Fatigue Feeling Knots and Lumps in the

throat Hard times focusing Constantly making preparations for

threats Irritability Muscle aches Muscle tension Restlessness Nausea, diarrhea, or stomachaches Sweating Trembling Twitching Trouble relaxing Trouble sleeping and staying asleep

Treatments

Psychotherapy Emotionally charged, confiding

interaction between a trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties. People with general anxiety need someone who is supportive, understanding, and take interest in how they feel.

Behavior Therapies

-Counter conditioning A behavior therapy

procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors. (i.e systematic desensitization & Aversive Conditioning)

-Systematic Desensitization A type of counter

conditioning that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. If a person with general anxiety is treated with this therapy, whatever their fear is will come in contact (slowly) with whatever they are comfortable doing. Such as someone who fears mice but loves eating, the mice would placed in the same area as the patient while their eating and over time the mice will get closer and closer to the point of physical contact.

-Exposure Therapies Behavioral techniques, such as

systematic desensitization, that treat anxieties by exposing people to the things they fear and avoid. This therapy introduces the feared object/event to the patient little by little.

-Aversive Conditioning A type of counter

conditioning that associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior. People with anxiety disorders that are treated with this therapy tend to get rid of unwanted behaviors by associating it with an uncomfortable feeling such as drinking (the unwanted behavior) and nausea ( the uncomfortable feeling).

Biomedical Therapies

-Antianxiety DrugsXanax, Valium,

etc. People with anxiety disorders that are treated with this therapy use these medicines to depress the central nervous system, which causes panic attacks.

Stress Management Techniques

Start a stress Journal What stresses you out? How do you feel about it? What did you do in response? What did you do to make yourself feel

better?

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Are any of these your ways of coping with stress? Charlie Cheswick smiled a lot and slept with men to cope with stress…

Smoking Drinking too much Overeating or under eating Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities Using pills or drugs to relax       Sleeping too much Procrastinating Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing

problems Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry

outbursts, physical violence)

If so…..they’re wrong! And you need to stop

because they’re unhealthy….

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Do you know of the Four A’s?

Change the situation: Avoid the stressor. Alter the stressor.    

Change your reaction: Adapt to the stressor. Accept the stressor.

Local Locations

Anxiety & Agoraphobia Treatment Center112 Bala Ave. Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004Telephone: (610) 667-6490        

Fax: (610) 667-1744

Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple UniversityDepartment of Psychology 419 Weiss Hall1701 N. 13th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 Telephone: (215) 204-1575

The Anxiety & OCD Treatment Center of Philadelphia

616 Walnut Street, Suite 714 Philadelphia, PA 19103  Telephone: (215) 735-7588        

 

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Hotlines (just in case)

National Mental Health Association

1-800-969-6642 (M-F, 9-5 EST)

National Institute of Mental Health Information Line

 1-800-647-2642 

References

Myers, David G. "Psychological Disorders." Psychology. New York: Worth, 2004. 627+. Print. Boulware, C. (2006). Crisis and Hotline Telephone Numbers. Retrieved June 2010, from

http://www.psychotherapist.net/crisis-hotlines.htm BehaveNet Clinical Capsule (2009). Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Retrieved June 2010, from

http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/gad.htm Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2010). Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Retrieved May 2010, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/generalized-anxiety-disorder/DS00502 National Institute of Mental Health (2010). Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Retrieved May 2010,

from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/index.shtml WrongDiagnosis. (2010). Prevalence and Incidence of Generalized anxiety disorder . Retrieved

June 2010, from http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/g/generalized_anxiety_disorder/prevalence.htm Amount, Reducing The. "Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with

Stress." Helpguide.org: Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Web. 08 June 2010. <http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm>.

"Social Phobia: Treatment." Internet Mental Health. Web. 08 June 2010. <http://www.mentalhealth.com/rx/p23-an03.html#Head_1c>.