Anxiety Disorders
Learn about anxiety disorders, including symptoms, risk factors, treatment options and answers to your questions.
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Crisis Hotlines: A Vital Response Resource
Crisis hotlines provide support and assistance easily available to anyone 24 hours a day, a vital resource at any time, but especially critical during our current national crisis. Many hotlines are seeing significant increases in calls. A national crisis hotline run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Disaster Distress Helpline, saw an increase in calls of more than 300% in March compared to February this year.
For Many, Returning to Work May Bring New Worries
As restrictions guarding against COVID-19 infection are easing, and people begin getting back into the community and work, some people will be ready to go, others may be much more hesitant.
Cataract Surgery and Hearing Aids May Help Reduce the Risk of Dementia in Older Adults
Dementia affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide and about 4 million in the U.S., about 9% of adults 65 or older. In the past, several factors have been identified that reduce the risk of dementia, including educational level, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, depression, social isolation. Recent research says that in older adults, treatments for hearing and vision problems can also help reduce the risk of dementia.
LGBTQ Youth Face Mental Health Challenges: Social Support and Safe Spaces Make a Difference
More than four in 10 LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to The Trevor Project’s third annual survey out last May. Meanwhile, nearly half (46%) of LGBTQ youth reported wanting psychological or emotional counseling from a mental health professional but were unable to receive it in.
The Economic Cost of Depression is Increasing; Direct Costs are Only a Small Part
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and can cause tremendous challenge and burden for individuals and families. It also carries a large economic cost. The economic burden of major depressive disorder among U.S. adults was an estimated $236 billion in 2018, an increase of more than 35% since 2010 (year 2020 values), according to research published in early May in the journal Pharmacoeconomics.
How Nutrition Impacts Mental Health
The relationship between nutrition and mental health is a hot topic, and it was the subject of a recent panel discussion at the APA’s online Annual Meeting in early May. A panel of experts reviewed research on the potential roles of nutrition in the causes of, recovery from and potential resilience against psychiatric illness.
Nature’s Benefits for Mental Health May Not Work So Well When Pressured
During the more than a year of pandemic restrictions, access to parks and other green spaces have been very important escapes for many, offering a place to go for exercise and social interaction when other options weren’t available. Fifteen national parks set new recreation visitation records in 2020, despite temporary park closures and restrictions in response to the pandemic.
City Living and Mental Well-being
More than half the world’s population lives in cities, and the number is expected to continue to increase in the coming decades. Living in urban areas has been associated with increased risk for mental disorders, including anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging has identified changes in the brain indicating that urban upbringing and city living are linked to social stress processing.
Two-Thirds of Black Americans Believe Climate Change Is Hurting Americans’ Health, According to New Poll
According to the latest Healthy Minds Monthly* poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA), Black Americans are more concerned than Americans overall about the health impacts of climate change. More than two-thirds (67%) of Black American adults believe climate change is already hurting Americans’ health (58% of all adults), and more than half (54%) agree that it’s impacting their mental health (48% of all adults). In addition, more than half of Black Americans (51%) reported being anxi
May Issues of APA Journals Cover Cognitive Impacts of Long-Term Cannabis Use and More
The May issues of two of the American Psychiatric Association’s journals, The American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Services are available online. Also available is the latest issue of Focus.
Americans Anxious Over Current Events, Losing Weight This Summer, Says New APA Poll
As Americans take to the beaches, leave school and turn on their air conditioners this summer, current events, such as inflation, are on their minds, and nearly half of Americans feel pressure to lose weight or otherwise change their body. This is according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Healthy Minds Monthly Poll*, which was conducted by Morning Consult between May 27 and 29, 2022, among a sample of 2,210 adults
Brain Fog Tied to Long COVID, Other Conditions
"Brain fog” is not a medical term, but it may seem familiar or intuitive. It refers to what people feel in any condition that causes confusion, memory loss, difficulty finding words, and loss of focus or inability to concentrate. These problems affect their day-to-day functioning and diminish their quality of life.