Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment in West Ashley, Charleston
Evaluation, counseling and medication management for worry that will not let up, in person or from home by secure video.
Understanding Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Worry is a normal part of life, and some of it is useful. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains that GAD is different: people with it feel worried or nervous more often or more strongly than the situation calls for, and the worry keeps going for months or even years and gets in the way of daily life.
NIMH also draws a line between stress and anxiety. In its words, stress is a reaction to something outside you, while anxiety is the body's own response and can show up when nothing is threatening you right now. Short bursts of anxiety are expected. When it stays and starts shaping your days, it is worth a closer look.
According to NIMH, GAD tends to build slowly and most often begins in early adulthood, though it can start at any age. Women are more likely than men to have it.
What the Worry Is About
For adults, NIMH lists common themes such as job security or performance, health, money, the well-being of family, being late and keeping up with chores. The topic can change from week to week. What stays the same is how hard it is to set the worry down.
NIMH notes that symptoms often rise and fall and tend to get worse during stressful stretches, such as an illness, a big deadline or tension at home.
Signs We Ask About
NIMH describes signs that reach well beyond the mind. People with GAD may feel on edge or irritable much of the time, feel restless or find it hard to relax, have trouble focusing, and sleep poorly or wake up tired. The body often joins in, with headaches, muscle aches, stomachaches, tension, trembling or twitching, heavy sweating, feeling lightheaded or short of breath, trouble swallowing or needing to urinate often.
Because several of these can also come from medical problems, we take a full history and coordinate with your primary care provider when a physical cause needs to be ruled out.
How Common Is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
NIMH reports survey estimates that about 2.7 percent of U.S. adults had GAD in the past year, with a higher rate in women (3.4 percent) than in men (1.9 percent). About 5.7 percent of adults will have GAD at some point in their lives. Among adults with GAD in the past year, NIMH reports that about a third had serious impairment, close to half had moderate impairment and the rest had mild impairment.
How We Evaluate Generalized Anxiety Disorder
A mental health diagnosis is made by a qualified clinician using the DSM-5-TR, the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual. In plain terms, NIMH explains that a GAD diagnosis involves trouble controlling worry on most days for at least 6 months, along with at least three of these: feeling restless or on edge, tiring easily, trouble concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and sleep problems.
Your provider will ask when the worry began, how long it has lasted, how often it shows up and what it has cost you at work, at home or with the people you care about. NIMH notes that a physical exam may follow the history to check for an unrelated medical cause.
You do not need to wait for the 6-month mark to ask for an evaluation. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends anxiety screening for adults up to age 64, and a short questionnaire such as the GAD-2 or GAD-7 can be a starting point. The Task Force is clear that a screening tool alone does not make a diagnosis; a conversation with a clinician still has to follow.
Other conditions can look similar. In social anxiety disorder, the fear centers on being judged by others. In panic disorder, sudden waves of intense fear take the lead. NIMH also notes that GAD often shows up alongside depression, other anxiety disorders and chronic pain, so we look at the whole picture.
Treatment Options
NIMH says GAD is usually treated with talk therapy, medication or both, chosen around your needs, preferences and medical history. It can take some trial and error, and both approaches can take time to work, so we plan for follow-up visits rather than a single answer.
NIMH describes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as the best-studied talk approach for GAD. CBT helps you notice worried or unhelpful thoughts, test them and change the habits that keep worry going. NIMH adds that acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which uses tools such as mindfulness and goal setting to help you live alongside difficult thoughts, has growing research behind it. Our licensed counselors offer individual therapy using CBT and ACT.
Medication, when indicated, is decided jointly with you. Your provider will go over the options, how long they may take to help and their possible side effects, and will adjust the plan at follow-up visits.
NIMH notes that steady sleep, cutting back on caffeine, exercise and mindfulness can ease symptoms alongside treatment, though they are not a replacement for it.
Starting Care by Video
If you have been putting off care because of time, a secure video visit lets you meet a provider from home, anywhere in South Carolina. You can also see us in person at our West Ashley office, and many patients use a mix of both.
If You Are in Crisis
If worry ever comes with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, those thoughts need help right away. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential at any hour. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Veterans and service members can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1. Hope Behavioral Medicine is not an emergency service.
Getting Care in the Charleston Area
Charleston County has about one mental health provider for every 214 residents, compared with one for every 437 across South Carolina. Our office is on Gardner Road in West Ashley, and we also see adults anywhere in South Carolina by secure video, so you do not have to wait for a local opening or take time off to drive.
We accept Medicare, most major commercial plans, and all South Carolina Medicaid managed care plans except Select Health (First Choice). New patients are often able to be scheduled within a week of requesting an appointment.
Sources
The facts on this page come from: National Institute of Mental Health, Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What You Need to Know (revised 2025); National Institute of Mental Health, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (statistics); U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, Anxiety Disorders in Adults: Screening (2023); CMS National Provider Identification file, 2024, via County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2025.
Common Symptoms
Treatment Options
Frequently Asked Questions
Everyday worry comes and goes with events. NIMH describes GAD as worry that is hard to control on most days for at least 6 months and gets in the way of daily life.
Yes. NIMH lists headaches, muscle aches, stomachaches, trembling, sweating and trouble sleeping among the signs of GAD. Medical causes should be checked too.
NIMH says treatment usually involves talk therapy, medication or both. It describes CBT as the best-studied talk approach and says ACT has growing research support.
NIMH reports that about 2.7 percent of U.S. adults had GAD in the past year, and about 5.7 percent will have it at some point in their lives.
Yes. We see adults anywhere in South Carolina by secure video, and in person at our West Ashley office.
A qualified clinician makes the diagnosis. At our practice, you meet with a psychiatric provider or licensed counselor, who can coordinate with your primary care provider when needed.