Um, this pretty much sounds like nonsense. It was only in the 40s the first anti-anxiety medication was developed. It hit the market in 1954 under the name Miltown and it was an instant hit. Ten years later one in every three prescriptions was for Miltown. The use among housewives got so notorious the Rolling Stones wrote a song about it. (sexist and biased as it is…)

The diagnoses “generalized anxiety” might not have existed, but the disorder has always been around.