Generalized Anxiety Disorder is often insidious in onset, with many individuals reporting symptoms since childhood. Which statement best characterize its onset?

• A. Acute Onset After Trauma
• B. Insidious Onset With Childhood Onset
• C. Sudden Onset With Episodic Symptoms
• D. Onset After Age 65

Answer: (B)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder typically develops gradually, with a long-standing pattern of worry that can begin in childhood or adolescence and persist for years. This insidious, early emergence fits the disorder’s usual course, where symptoms are chronic and pervasive rather than sudden or tied to a single event. Many adults recall worrying and anxious thoughts starting in childhood, even if the diagnosis is made later.

This contrasts with acute onset after trauma, which points to disorders like PTSD that arise after a specific stressful event; a sudden onset with episodic symptoms describes panic-type conditions where discrete attacks occur; and onset after age 65 is not the defining pattern, though late-onset cases can occur. Therefore, the description of an insidious onset with childhood onset best captures how Generalized Anxiety Disorder tends to arise.