Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depression: A Learning Theory Connection

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects a large number of people [1]. While inroads have been made in terms of its treatment, many reviewers of psychotherapeutic treatment for GAD conclude that effectiveness is far from complete and that more about GAD remains to be learned [2,3]. Two features of GAD are prominent. First, GAD is characterized by what can be called a behavioral excess. Sufferers complain of frequent and seemingly uncontrollable worry, so much so that Andrews et al. [4] recommended that the disorder be renamed “generalized worry disorder.” Second, GAD is highly comorbid with depression [5].