GAD is excessive worry that lasts at least six months and disrupts daily activities, according to the March issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource. Typically starting during middle age and more common in older adults, GAD affects an estimated 4 to 7 percent of adults 65 and older and often goes hand in hand with depression or other anxiety disorders, such as phobias.

It’s believed that people with GAD have abnormal levels of brain chemicals that affect the response to stressful or uncertain situations. This overactive fear circuitry in the brain can cause a person to view many situations, even harmless ones, as threats.

Other signs and symptoms of GAD include irritability; inability to relax; difficulty concentrating; muscle aches and headaches; trouble falling or staying asleep; gastrointestinal discomfort or diarrhea; trembling or twitching; sweating, light-headedness or shortness of breath.

Several treatment options are available, but finding relief may take some time. Treatment options include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy: This type of psychotherapy focuses on identifying and changing the thinking patterns that reinforce anxiety or reactions to stressful situations. Short-term treatment usually lasts about 12 weeks.

Medications: Several categories of medications can effectively treat anxiety. Some medications may not be fully effective for up to two months. Often, medications are used in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy. Antidepressants considered for GAD treatment include venlafaxine (Effexor), duloxetine (Cymbalta), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro). The anti-anxiety medication buspirone (BuSpar) can be effective for GAD and can be taken with antidepressants.

Other medications, called benzodiazepines, may be prescribed for short periods. Options include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan) and alprazolam (Xanax).

Self-care: Exercise produces chemical changes that can calm the body and combat anxiety. Meditation, yoga, music and massages promote relaxation and can ease anxiety. Healthy eating, with regular meals and energy-boosting snacks, is helpful, as is avoiding caffeine and nicotine.

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Researchers from Switzerland and the United States found that so-called benzodiazepine drugs, such as Ativan, Xanax and Valium, exert a calming effect by boosting action of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the same way as addictive drugs like opioids and cannabinoids.

This in turn activates the gratification hormone, dopamine, in the brain, the scientists said, showing that the same brain “reward pathways” are used by both types of drugs.

The findings may help in developing a next generation of non-addictive benzodiazepines, they wrote in the journal Nature.

Roche’s drug Valium, known generically as diazepam, is the best known of the benzodiazepine class of drugs, which have dominated the anxiety medicine market since the 1960s.

It and Ativan were among a host of other prescription drugs found in the blood of American pop star Michael Jackson when he died in June last year.

The study found that benzodiazepines seemed to work by binding to a particular part of the GABA, which the researchers named as the alpha1 sub-unit of the GABA type A receptor.

The findings show that developing similar benzodiazepines that bind to a different part may offer the same drug benefits without the addictive side effects, they said.

A study published earlier this month found that people with higher levels of dopamine in the brain tend to be more prone to addictive behavior.

Drug companies have been trying for some time to develop next-generation benzodiazepines by tweaking their chemical make-up to deliver a more selective effect that avoids unwanted side effects, but it has so far proved an uphill struggle.

German scientists conducting early research into a new compound said last year they thought they may have found a better anxiety drug which could counteract panic attacks without the side effects of existing drugs.

In 2003 Merck & Co abandoned work on another potential anxiety drug known as GABA Alpha 2/Alpha 3, after mid-stage clinical trial results were disappointing.

(Editing by Jon Boyle/David Stamp)

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