Some Surprisingly Good News About Anxiety

University of Toronto

Anxiety disorders are the most common type of psychiatric illness, but researchers know very little about the factors associated with recovery. A new study from the University of Toronto examined three levels of recovery in a large representative sample of more than 2,000 Canadians with a history of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

The study reports that 72% of Canadians with a history of GAD have been free of mental health problems for at least a year. In general, 40% have a state of excellent mental health, and 60% do not have other mental illnesses or addiction problems, such as suicidal thoughts, dependence on sustancias, a major depression or a bipolar disorder, and last year,

The definition of excellent mental health sets the bar very high. To define themselves as having excellent mental health, respondents had to do three things:

1) Almost daily happiness or satisfaction in life over the past month.

2) High levels of social and psychological well-being in the past month.

3) Absence of generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorders, suicidal thoughts and substance dependence for at least the previous full year.

“We were very encouraged to learn that even among those whose anxiety disorders had lasted a decade or more, half were in remission from GAD within the past year and a quarter had achieved excellent mental health and well-being. -be,” says Esme Fuller – Thomson, lead author of the study. Fuller-Thomson is director of the Institute of Course and Aging at the University of Toronto and a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the Department of Family and Community Medicine.