It's tricky, because most people I seem to know with Bipolar struggle with some form of anxiety, and it's not uncommon for the anxiety to be severe. However, GAD has its whole set of criteria. You can be diagnosed with both or just one or the other. I've been tested for GAD back in High School, and at the time I met most of the criteria. Later on, a psychiatrist told me that my anxiety (and sometimes paranoid ideation) is secondary to the Bipolar, or as a result of having the disorder. So it gets quite complicated!!