GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER (GAD) AS AN UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR SAFETY

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is construed as an interplay betwee n threatening signals and safety signals. Safety signals have a fear-l imiting effect; they define the places and periods in which people can feel safe. Patients with GAD have insufficient and/or ineffective saf ety signals, and hence, there are few times or places in which they fe el safe. The behavior associated with GAD is regarded as a manifestati on of the person's unsuccessful attempts to achieve a sense of safety. This construal helps to make intelligible three distinctive features of GAD: the undue persistence of the anxiety, the excessive generality of the anxiety, and the absence of a specific treatment procedure. Se lected treatment implications are considered, and some disadvantages a nd problems facing this proposed construal of GAD are noted.