Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a clinically diagnosable condition that may present in isolation but often coexists with other anxiety disorders, depression, alcohol and substance misuse, and other mental or physical conditions. Patients may also present with sub-clinical symptoms, which are not severe, consistent or chronic enough to meet the diagnostic criteria.

This tutorial aims to enable health care professionals, particularly those working in primary care, to recognise the symptoms of GAD, enabling them to offer appropriate support and advice to patients with anxiety and to know when to refer them for specialist help.

It is part of a series of five tutorials on anxiety disorders, which are categorised as such because overwhelming and irrational anxiety is common to all of them. For this reason there is a certain amount of overlap between these tutorials, for example in relation to understanding anxiety and how it is treated. However, these disorders also differ significantly so each tutorial stands alone and all or any of them may be completed in any order.

The series also includes:
Anxiety Disorders: Phobias;
Anxiety Disorders: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder;
Anxiety Disorders: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;
Anxiety Disorders: Panic Disorder.