The same can be said for depression, manic episodes, etc. Many mental issues are catalyzed by large amounts of stress and are experienced by most everyone. It becomes disordered ( or a disorder) when it disrupts life. I'm not a fan of labeling or a an advocate for the promulgation of anxiety as pathology. However, to deny that the cold sweats, sleepless nights, paralyzing fear, heart palpitations, paranoia, gastrointestinal issues, spontaneous aches and pains and more that plague ppl diagnosed with GAD does not collectively suggest an illness isn't something I can do. I think it is a unique type of mental illness in that it is more a result of mistakes in parenting, emotional neglect and things of that nature than the result of a brain malfunction alone like BPD, Schizophrenia etc. GAD is being overdiagnosed and this likely benefits the pharmaceutical companies but that does not negate the fact that it is a real disorder and that many people truly suffer very serious challenges in life on account of having it. I think it is a very real mental illness catalyzed by early life trauma that alters the brain and is aided by the stresses of every day life. I mean, "normal" ppl do things consistent with bipolar disorder all the time but we acknowledge that bipolar disorder is a real illness. I think the understanding of anxiety disorder as a real mental illness is being hampered by the oversimplification of it and by the fact that people who truly have GAD are not likely to do things that evidence their diagnoses. In contrast, we all know of at least one one person with bipolar disorder and we know what the challenges of that disorder look like. People with GAD work to make sure that they are never a case in point. GAD does not have a celebrity face or hallmark symptoms that are discernible upon coming on contact with persons suffering from it because it is an anxiety disorder but one where the storm rages inside not outside for all to see.