Regardless of your age, there is a good chance that you have suffered from some form of anxiety in your lifetime.
Common anxieties like worrying that you will flunk an all important job interview or that you would not pass an important test are the bodies normal reaction to what could be classified as stressful situations.
Once the stress inducing situation passes, you are then able to get on with your life, free of the anxiety and fear caused by a particular situation, but not all anxiety is created equal.
There are others who find themselves plagued with an uncontrollable and unrealistic level of worry about everyday situations like their job, school, personal relationships or even their health.
When you find yourself constantly worrying about every little thing you do on a daily basis, your anxiety is no longer normal and is commonly referred to a generalised anxiety disorders or GAD.
There is more to generalized anxiety disorders than just persistent worrying.
GAD is commonly accompanied by three other symptoms which can include but are not limited to being easily fatigued, a feeling of restlessness, difficulty concentrating, tense muscles, feeling cranky and an inability to sleep soundly each night.
Many find that generalized anxiety disorders have a way of affecting your life, causing you to not be able to enjoy things like you used to.
This disorder also may cause suffers to misuse either drugs or alcohol as a way to escape or mask their overwhelming feeling for at least a little while.
Similar to long term stress, generalized anxiety disorders can have a negative effect on both your physical and your mental health but the symptoms that you experience can depend on a variety of different factors.
There is a chance that your symptoms may pass quickly, or they could stay with you for a long period of time.
If you, or someone you care about, find that these symptoms are too much to bear then it may be a good idea to enlist the help of a doctor, clinical psychologist or counsellor in order to find successful solutions to treat GAD.
A few of the most common ways that generalized anxiety disorders can have an effect on your mental health are as follows: Common Mood Symptoms:

• Constantly feeling like you are worried or scared about everything.
  
• Feeling like you are stuck in a constantly cranky or bad mood.
  
• Being unable to shake the feeling of being uneasy or on edge.
  

Common Thinking Symptoms:

• A constant fear or feeling of worry that something bad is about to happen.
  
• An urge to always be good, or be well-behaved, at school, work or with friends but not necessarily at home.
  
• A constant pessimistic outlook and an ability to easily identify what could possibly go wrong in any given situation.
  

Common Behaviour Symptoms:

• Finding yourself constantly asking unnecessary questions and requires constant reassurance.
  
• Choosing to either be a loner, or hanging out only with small groups of people who may be older or younger than you are.
  
• Striving to be a perfectionist at everything you do by taking an extremely long time to complete homework or any other task in order to ensure you do it absolutely correct.
  
• Choosing to be argumentative in an attempt to avoid a feared situation.
  
• Doing everything you can to avoid answering questions or providing comments or information in school or work situations.
  
• Getting upset when a mistake is made or if changes beyond your control happen in your daily life, like a change in routine, substitute teacher, an unexpected visitor or a trip to an unfamiliar place.
  

Common Physical Symptoms:

• Dry mouth and/or difficulty swallowing
• Constant Nightmares
• Having a hard time getting to and staying asleep
• Having a difficult time concentrating
• Tense muscles and headaches that never seem to go away
• A Rapid heart rate and faster breathing
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Diarrhea
• Flare-up of another health problem or illness (e.
  g.
  dermatitis, asthma)

Experiencing sexual problems, such as not having any sexual feelings or not being interested in sex While the causes of generalized anxiety disorders are not truly know, many believe that GAD is part of your genetic and chemical makeup as well as your personality.
There may even be certain things in your life that can trigger GAD such as your environment, a stressful situation at school, work or home, or physical or mental trauma.
Some of the most common causes are:

• Your genetics particularly if there is a history of anxiety in your family.
  
• An imbalance of the chemicals in your brain that regulate your feelings and physical reactions which can alter your thoughts, emotions or behavior, resulting in anxiety.
  
• One or multiple stressful events in your life such as a family break-up, abuse, bullying at school, sexual abuse, a death, a relationship break up, or a family conflict.
  
• Your personality could also be a cause since certain personality types are more at risk of anxiety than others.
  

These are just the basics of generalized anxiety disorders.
Watch out for the warning signs and remember to always enlist the help of a trained professional whenever necessary.