Anxiety Disorders

Introduction

Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.¹ These disorders fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.

Effective treatments for anxiety disorders are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, you should seek information and treatment.

This brochure will

help you identify the symptoms of anxiety disorders,
explain the role of research in understanding the causes of these conditions,
describe effective treatments,
help you learn how to obtain treatment and work with a doctor or therapist, and
suggest ways to make treatment more effective.

The anxiety disorders discussed in this brochure are

panic disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder,
post-traumatic stress disorder,
social phobia (or social anxiety disorder),
specific phobias, and
generalized anxiety disorder.

Each anxiety disorder has its own distinct features, but they are all bound together by the common theme of excessive, irrational fear and dread.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) supports scientific investigation into the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses. The NIMH mission is to reduce the burden of mental illness through research on mind, brain, and behavior. NIMH is a component of the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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The information contained within this site is intended for informational purposes only. If you are in need of medical advice consult with your doctor.