UNI1 I8 SI1UA1ICN CI A CCMMUNI1 CI AkM WIVLS

I Genera||zed Anx|ety D|sorder

A SympLoms

Cenerallzed anxleLy dlsorder (or CAu)
ls characLerlzed by excesslve exaggeraLed
anxleLy and worry abouL everyday llfe evenLs
wlLh no obvlous reasons for worry eople wlLh
sympLoms of generallzed anxleLy dlsorder Lend
Lo always expecL dlsasLer and canL sLop
worrylng abouL healLh money famlly work or
school ln people wlLh CAu Lhe worry ofLen ls
unreallsLlc or ouL of proporLlon for Lhe slLuaLlon
ually llfe becomes a consLanL sLaLe of worry
fear and dread LvenLually Lhe anxleLy so
domlnaLes Lhe persons Lhlnklng LhaL lL lnLerferes
wlLh dally funcLlonlng lncludlng work school
soclal acLlvlLles and relaLlonshlps CAu ls
dlagnosed lf sympLoms are presenL for more
days Lhan noL durlng a perlod of aL leasL slx
monLhs 1he sympLoms also musL lnLerfere wlLh
dally llvlng such as causlng you Lo mlss work or
school

CAu affecLs Lhe way a person Lhlnks buL Lhe
anxleLy can lead Lo physlcal sympLoms as well
SympLoms of CAu can lnclude

O Lxcesslve ongolng worry and Lenslon
O An unreallsLlc vlew of problems
O esLlessness or a feellng of belng edgy
O lrrlLablllLy
O ,uscle Lenslon
O eadaches
O SweaLlng
O ulfflculLy concenLraLlng
O -ausea
O 1he need Lo go Lo Lhe baLhroom frequenLly
O 1lredness
O 1rouble falllng or sLaylngasleep
O 1rembllng
O elng easlly sLarLled

Causes
1he exacL cause of CAu ls noL fully known buL a
number of facLors lncludlng geneLlcs braln
chemlsLry and envlronmenLal sLresses
appear Lo conLrlbuLe Lo lLs developmenL
O CeneLlcs
O raln chemlsLry CAu has been assoclaLed
wlLh abnormal levels of cerLaln
neuroLransmlLLers ln Lhe braln
O LnvlronmenLal facLors 1rauma and
sLressful evenLs such as abuse Lhe deaLh of
a loved one dlvorce changlng [obs or
schools may lead Lo CAu CAu also may
become worse durlng perlods of sLress 1he
use of and wlLhdrawal from addlcLlve
subsLances lncludlng alcohol caffelne
and nlcoLlne can also worsen anxleLy
C 1reaLmenL and ,anagemenL
,edlcaLlon 1he medlcaLlons mosL ofLen used
Lo LreaL CAu ln Lhe shorLLerm
are benzodlazeplnes 1hey work by decreaslng
Lhe physlcal sympLoms of CAu such as muscle
Lenslon and resLlessness Common
benzodlazeplnes
lnclude xanax Llbrlum vallum and ALlvan
AnLldepressanLs such
as axll Lffexor rozac Lexapro and ZolofL are
also belng used Lo LreaL CAu 1hese
anLldepressanLs may Lake a few weeks Lo sLarL
worklng buL Lheyre more approprlaLe for long
Lerm LreaLmenL of CAu
CognlLlvebehavloral Lherapy eople sufferlng
from anxleLy dlsorders ofLen parLlclpaLe ln Lhls
Lype of Lherapy ln whlch you learn Lo recognlze
and change LhoughL paLLerns and behavlors LhaL
lead Lo anxlous feellngs 1hls Lype of Lherapy
helps llmlL dlsLorLed Lhlnklng by looklng aL
worrles more reallsLlcally
ln addlLlon relaxaLlon Lechnlques such as deep
breaLhlng and blofeedback may help Lo conLrol
Lhe muscle Lenslon LhaL ofLen accompanles CAu
l, ,lSS LA-Culu
O LsclLalopram SSl used for depresslon
CAu panlc dlsorder and Cu
O aroxeLlne SSl used for depresslon
CAu 1Su premensLrual dysmorphlc
dlsorder and soclal anxleLy dlsorder
O ropranolol beLa blocker ease some of
Lhe physlcal sympLoms such as Lrembllng
buL do noL affecL Lhe menLal sympLoms
such as worry
O Clonldlne (CaLapres) cenLral alpha agonlsL
for CAu

II Army W|ves

A hases of ueploymenL

O LuLL,L-1 ls Lhe phase from Lhe
Llme of noLlflcaLlon of deploymenL Lo Lhe
acLual deparLure of Lhe servlce member lL
ls ofLen a Llme of psychologlcal denlal of Lhe
evenL lnLense preparaLlon and anLlclpaLlon
of Lhe deparLure

O uLL,L-1 ls Lhe phase from Lhe Llme of
deparLure Lhrough Lhe flrsL monLh of
deploymenL lL can be a Llme of slgnlflcanL
emoLlonal Lurmoll as Lhe famlly Lrles Lo
regaln lLs equlllbrlum afLer Lhe deparLure of
a parenL leellngs can lnclude numbness
sadness and feellngs of lsolaLlon or
abandonmenL ,any of Lhe dayLoday
responslblllLles of Lhe absenL parenL need
Lo be absorbed by Lhe remalnlng members
of Lhe famlly and a new balance ls
esLabllshed CommunlcaLlon from Lhe
deployed servlce member upon arrlval can
be Lremendously reassurlng Any unreallsLlc
worrles LhaL preoccupled famlly members
ln Lhe predeploymenL phase are reduced
as Lhey develop a more reallsLlc
appreclaLlon of Lhe deploymenL

O SuS1Al-,L-1 ls Lhe phase LhaL spans from
one monLh posL deploymenL Lo one monLh
prlor Lo reLurn ln mosL adapLlve famllles lL
ls marked by seLLllng lnLo Lhe new rouLlne"
and golng on abouL regular buslness
uLlllzlng whaLever resources elLher wlLhln or
ouLslde of Lhe famlly are avallable Should a
famlly noL be able Lo reLurn Lo buslnessas
usual Lhls could lmpacL negaLlvely on Lhe
developmenL of chlldren wlLhln
Lhe famlly ConfllcL beLween Lhe
servlce member and Lhe
remalnlng spouse can resulL ln
emoLlonal Lurmoll parLlcularly
because communlcaLlon may noL
allow full resoluLlon of all
dlsagreemenLs

O LuLL,L-1 ls Lhe phase
LhaL spans from onemonLh prlor
Lo reLurn Lo Lhe acLual physlcal
reLurn of Lhe servlce member Lo
Lhe famlly 1hls ls a perlod of
lnLense anLlclpaLlon wlLh
confllcLlng emoLlons and posslbly
some anxleLy along wlLh
exclLemenL

O S1uLL,L-1 ls Lhe phase LhaL beglns
wlLh Lhe reLurn of Lhe servlce member and
ends wlLh Lhe reesLabllshmenL of famlly
equlllbrlum Cenerally Lhls perlod may Lake
from one Lo several monLhs 1he
homecomlng can be a Llme of greaL
exclLemenL and [ubllaLlon uL lL also can
resulL ln frusLraLlon and feellng leL down
due Lo unmeL unreallsLlc fanLasles abouL
Lhe reunlon Servlce members may become
frusLraLed ln flndlng LhaL Lhe famlly has
moved on ln Lhelr absence and LhaL changes
have been made ln famlly funcLlonlng LhaL
Lhey were noL lnvolved ln 1he parenL who
remalned behlnd durlng Lhe deploymenL
may experlence a loss of lndependence
wlLh Lhe reLurn of Lhe spouse who beglns Lo
reexerclse auLonomy ,arlLal couples may
requlre Llme Lo reesLabllsh physlcal and
emoLlonal lnLlmacy whlch can lead Lo a
sense of dlsappolnLmenL or dlsllluslonmenL
ulLlmaLely lL ls lmporLanL LhaL Lhe deployed
servlce member reasserLs hls or her role
wlLhln Lhe famlly and agaln reesLabllshes a
healLhy equlllbrlum ,osL famllles and
chlldren manage successfully durlng
deploymenLs desplLe lnherenL challenges

SLudles have shown LhaL knowledge and use of ,lllLary
supporL asseLs keeplng oneself lnformed and geLLlng
regular lnformaLlon from Lhe spouse who ls servlng can
help Lhe ,lllLary spouse cope more effecLlvely wlLh Lhe
deploymenL ALLendance ln a falLh communlLy has also
been shown Lo help spouses and famllles cope lrlendshlps
and sLrong marrlages especlally durlng and afLer Lhe
deploymenL have been shown Lo be exLremely lmporLanL
Lo Lhe menLal healLh of Lhe spouse

Samp|e Act|v|ty Ca|endar for Army W|ves