• • The DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for GAD include: 
    • Excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation), occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities (such as work or school performance).
    • The individual finds it difficult to control the worry.
    • The anxiety and worry are associated with three (or more) of the following six symptoms (with at least some symptoms present for more days than not for the past 6 months): restlessness or feeling 'keyed up' or on edge, easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep).
    • The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
    • The disturbance is not attributable to the psychological effects of a substance, and cannot be explained by another mental disorder. 
  • The ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for GAD include: 
    • Marked symptoms of anxiety manifested by either general apprehensiveness that is not restricted to any particular environmental circumstance, or excessive worry about negative events occurring in several different aspects of everyday life.
    • Anxiety and general apprehensiveness or worry accompanied by additional symptoms, such as: muscle tension or motor restlessness; sympathetic autonomic overactivity (for example, frequent gastrointestinal symptoms, palpitations, sweating, trembling, shaking, and/or dry mouth); subjective experience of nervousness, restlessness, or being 'on edge'; difficulty concentrating; irritability; sleep disturbances (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep).
    • The symptoms are not transient and persist for at least several months, for more days than not; are not better accounted for by another mental disorder; are not a manifestation of another medical condition and are not due to the effects of a substance or medication on the central nervous system. 
    • The symptoms result in significant distress about experiencing persistent anxiety symptoms or significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. If functioning is maintained, it is only through significant additional effort.
• Take a medical history, and ask about: 
  • The nature, severity, and duration of symptoms.
  • History of physical or emotional trauma. 
  • History of mental health disorders, and family history of mental health conditions in first-degree relatives. 
  • Other risk factors for GAD.
  • Past experiences of, and responses to, treatments if appropriate. 
  • Repeated visits with the same physical symptoms which do not respond to treatment (for example insomnia, headache, or fatigue).
  • Use of over-the-counter or prescribed medications and herbal remedies. 
    • Anxiety can be an adverse effect of some medicines, such as salbutamol, theophylline, beta-blockers, herbal medicines (including ma huang, St John's wort, ginseng, guarana, belladonna), corticosteroids, and some antidepressants. 
  • Availability of social and emotional support. 
• Consider using a validated assessment tool such as the GAD-2 or GAD-7 questionnaires to determine the severity of GAD. 
• Assess the risk of suicide.  
• Be aware that GAD is often comorbid with major depression, and other anxiety disorders (especially panic disorder, social phobia, and specific phobias). 
• 
  

Fear is an intensely unpleasant primal emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes psychological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear in human beings may occur in response to a certain stimulus occurring in the present, or in anticipation or expectation of a future threat perceived as a risk to oneself. The fear response arises from the perception of danger leading to confrontation with or escape from/avoiding the threat (also known as the fight-or-flight response), which in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) can be a freeze response. The fear response is also implicated in a number of mental disorders, particularly anxiety disorders.

In humans and other animals, fear is modulated by the process of cognition and learning. Thus, fear is judged as rational and appropriate, or irrational and inappropriate (or unconscious). An irrational fear is called a phobia.

Fear is closely related to the emotion anxiety, which occurs as the result of future threats that are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.^[1] The fear response serves survival by engendering appropriate behavioral responses, so it has been preserved throughout evolution.^[2] Sociological and organizational research also suggests that individuals' fears are not solely dependent on their nature but are also shaped by their social relations and culture, which guide their understanding of when and how much fear to feel.^{[3][page needed]}

^Wiki