Appraisal of activating thoughts in generalized anxiety disorder

Worrying may be an avoidance behaviour preventing the discomfort of imagining future threats. To study the link between phasic physiological activation and thought contents, we recruited 32 generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients and 31 controls and asked them to report whatever was in their mind just prior to whenever they were prompted. Half of 20 prompts were triggered by non-specific skin conductance fluctuations (activating thoughts). Controls judged activating thoughts as being less pleasant. GAD participants judged activating thoughts as more anxiety provoking, less relaxing and less controllable. Not the level of activation but the appraisal of activating thoughts in a catastrophic fashion differentiates GAD patients from controls.