Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Break free from constant worry. Dr. Fickey provides expert treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) with therapy and medication.
Understanding GAD
Generalized Anxiety Disorder involves chronic, excessive worry about everyday situations. People with GAD often struggle to relax and may feel restless or on edge most of the time.
Common Symptoms
Persistent worry or fear
Restlessness, irritability, or difficulty concentrating
Muscle tension or sleep disturbances
Feeling overwhelmed by routine challenges
What Causes Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is thought to result from a combination of genetics, brain chemistry and life experiences. People with a family history of anxiety are more likely to develop it, and differences in how the brain processes fear and uncertainty can keep the body in a constant state of alert.
Chronic stress, major life changes, trauma, certain medical conditions and heavy caffeine or substance use can also contribute. Many people live with persistent worry for years before realizing it is a treatable condition.
How GAD Is Diagnosed
During a psychiatric evaluation, we ask about the focus and intensity of your worries, physical symptoms such as muscle tension, fatigue and poor sleep, and how long they have been present. GAD is typically diagnosed when excessive worry is hard to control and lasts for six months or more.
We also check for depression, panic disorder and medical causes of anxiety, such as thyroid problems, so your care plan targets what is really driving your symptoms.
Treatment Approach
At Embracing Life Wellness Center, we offer:
Comprehensive evaluation and diagnosis
Medication Management and non Medicated options
Management when needed
Effective Treatment Is Available
GAD responds well to treatment. Care often combines therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, with lifestyle strategies and medication management. When anxiety occurs together with major depression, TMS therapy for anxious depression may be an option for adults who have not improved with medication.
Embracing Life Wellness Center treats anxiety at our Tampa, Riverview and Coral Gables offices, with telehealth available throughout Florida. Request an appointment today.
Everyday Strategies That Help
Alongside professional treatment, daily habits can lower baseline anxiety. Regular physical activity, consistent sleep, limiting caffeine and alcohol, and practicing relaxation techniques such as slow breathing or mindfulness all help calm the nervous system. Setting aside a short, scheduled “worry time” can keep anxious thoughts from taking over the day.
These strategies work best as part of a complete plan, not as a replacement for care. For more ideas, read our article on natural ways to reduce anxiety.
Take the First Step
Life doesn’t have to be lived in fear. Let us help you reclaim confidence and joy. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
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Our Mental Health & NeuroStar TMS Services
We specialize in psychiatric treatment and TMS therapy for a variety of conditions, including, but not limited to, the following:
NeuroStar Advanced Therapy (TMS)
Embracing Life Wellness Center is proud to offer NeuroStar TMS therapy in-office for depression treatment.
TMS makes long-term remission possible for patients living with depression. Over 3 million treatments have been safely performed by the NeuroStar TMS device and our patients are experiencing significant benefits.
learn more about treatment
Message from Dr. Melissa Fickey
“As the founder of Embracing Life Wellness Center, my vision was to have a practice that offers only high-quality mental health treatment in a caring and compassionate environment, setting the standard
of what patients should expect from their mental health care provider. I am proud to say we have
done just that at Embracing Life Wellness Center, while empowering our patients to embrace their lives to the fullest. We are passionate about mental wellness and we will continue to strive on the path towards excellence, only offering the best mental health treatment for our patients and our community.”
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Our offices are open 24/7 for office visits and TMS treatments.
