NIMH Launches Web Site On Anxiety Disorders

New On-line Resource Helps People Living with America's Most Common Mental Illnesses

BETHESDA, MD, September 23, 1997 — Information about the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders is now available on a Web site from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The site will provide Internet users with immediate access to information about these serious, yet treatable illnesses that affect more than 19 million Americans each year.

Consumers and medical and mental health professionals can visit www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety to learn more about panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder.

"NIMH supported research has led to remarkably precise knowledge of how fear and anxiety arise in the brain; in the near future we should understand how problems in brain pathways produce anxiety disorders. This research should lead to even more effective treatments for anxiety disorders than we have today," said NIMH Director Steven E. Hyman, M.D. "The Web site will communicate these important advances to Americans living with anxiety disorders, their families, and the professionals who care for them."

The new Web site provides the latest information on anxiety disorders' symptoms, diagnosis and treatment in a graphic, easy-to-use format. Visitors can view video clips featuring personal accounts of people who describe what it's like to suffer from an anxiety disorder, how it affected their lives, and how they sought help. They can read about available treatments, which include medication and specific forms of psychotherapy known as behavioral therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Also available is information on national mental health organizations, self-help groups, and a resource list that includes pertinent journal articles, books, and audiovisual materials for consumers and medical and mental health professionals.

Typically, people with anxiety disorders experience episodes of overwhelming anxiety and fear that are chronic, unremitting, and usually grow progressively worse when left untreated. Tormented by panic attacks, irrational thoughts and fears, compulsive behaviors or rituals, flashbacks, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms, some people with anxiety disorders even become housebound.

The Web site is one component of NIMH's Anxiety Disorders Education Program (ADEP) which has reached millions of people with information about panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. In addition to the Web site, ADEP provides free information about these illnesses to the general public and medical and mental health professionals through NIMH's toll-free number, 1-88-88-ANXIETY. Other educational components include: media outreach, public service announcements, partnerships with professional and voluntary organizations, worksite education, professional seminars and exhibits, and outreach to minorities and youth.

Highlights of the Web Site Include:

• Anxiety Disorders - Consumers can access a variety of information about each of the five types of anxiety disorders and available treatments, and find references and referrals to national organizations and self-help groups;
• News - Consumers and medical and mental health professionals will find the latest news from NIMH on anxiety disorders, including current activities and upcoming events;
• Professionals - Medical and mental health professionals can learn about the treatment of these illnesses in primary care and mental health settings;
• Library - Consumers and medical and mental health professionals can download a variety of English and Spanish-language materials about anxiety disorders.

Brief Facts About Anxiety Disorders:

• Panic Disorder - Repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - Repeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Persistent symptoms that occur after experiencing a traumatic event such as rape or other criminal assault, war, child abuse, natural disasters or crashes. Nightmares, flashbacks, numbing of emotions, depression and feeling angry, irritable, distracted and being easily startled are common.
• Phobias - Two major types of phobias are specific phobia and social phobia. People with social phobia have an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities. People with specific phobia experience extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger; the fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause people to limit their lives unnecessarily.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder - Constant, exaggerated worrisome thoughts and tension about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months. Almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little reason to expect it; accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.

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