NIMH Pages about Anxiety Disorders

Overview of Anxiety Disorders…

Find current clinical trials on Anxiety Disorders…

Publications about Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents (Fact Sheet)

A fact sheet that describes the development in our understanding of how anxiety disorders affect children and adolescents and the direction of future research.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: When Unwanted Thoughts Take Over

A brochure on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that explains the signs, symptoms, and treatments. En Español

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): When Worry Gets Out of Control

A brochure on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) that explains the signs, symptoms, and treatment. En Español

Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder): Always Embarrassed

A brochure on social phobia that explains the signs, symptoms, and treatments. En Español

Panic Disorder: When Fear Overwhelms

A brochure on Panic Disorder that explains the signs, symptoms and treatments. En Español

More Publications about Anxiety Disorders

Science News about Anxiety Disorders

National Survey Dispels Notion that Social Phobia is the Same as Shyness

Science Update • October 17, 2011
Normal human shyness is not being confused with the psychiatric anxiety disorder known as social phobia, according to an NIMH survey comparing the prevalence rates of the two among U.S. youth.

Adding Psychotherapy to Medication Treatment Improves Outcomes in Pediatric OCD

Science Update • September 21, 2011
Youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who are already taking antidepressant medication benefit by adding a type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), according to an NIMH-funded study published September 21, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Teen Brain Less Discerning of Threat vs. Safety, More Vulnerable to Stress

Science Update • April 28, 2011
Teen brains rely on early-maturing brain structures that process fear differently than adult brains, according to an NIMH-funded study. As a result, teens may have more difficulty than adults in differentiating between danger and safety, leading to more pervasive stress and anxiety. The study was published online ahead of print on February 23, 2011, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Light Switches Brain Pathway On-and-Off to Dissect How Anxiety Works

Science Update • April 18, 2011
Scientists, for the first time, have switched anxiety on-and-off in active animals by shining light at a brain pathway. Instinctively reclusive mice suddenly began exploring normally forbidding open spaces when a blue laser activated the pathway – and retreated into a protected area when it dimmed. By contrast, anxiety-like behaviors increased when an amber laser inhibited the same pathway.

Nurturing Newborn Neurons Sharpens Minds in Mice

Press Release • April 04, 2011
Adult mice engineered to have more newborn neurons in their brain memory hub excelled at accurately discriminating between similar experiences – an ability that declines with normal aging and in some anxiety disorders. Boosting such neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus also produced antidepressant-like effects when combined with exercise, in the study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

More Science News about Anxiety Disorders

Meeting Summaries about Anxiety Disorders

Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care

May 07, 2009 – May 08, 2009
Bethesda, Maryland
A two-day meeting convened in May 2009 educated participants on essential components of care for women with perinatal mood disorders

Cognition and Stress: Advances in Basic and Translational Research

July 24, 2007 – July 25, 2007
Bethesda, Maryland
In July 2007, the NIMH Cognition Working Group held a multidisciplinary workshop to identify major trends, gaps, and opportunities in behavioral and biological research on cognition and stress.

Optimizing fMRI Approaches to Adolescent Mental Disorders

August 17, 2006 – August 18, 2006
Rockville, Maryland
On August 17–18, 2006, the National Institute of Mental Health sponsored a workshop that brought together researchers involved in the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study adolescent mental disorders and normal development, as well as scientists involved in integrating fMRI data with data from other imaging modalities. The goal was to address issues involved in such research toward the goal of optimizing study designs and approaches to improve our understanding of the neural bases of these disorders