Anxiety Disorders Health Article

Prevention

Anxiety is an unavoidable feature of human existence. However, humans do have some power over their reactions to anxiety-provoking events and situations. Cognitive therapy and meditation or mindfulness training appear to be beneficial in helping people lower their long-term anxiety levels.

BOOKS

"Anxiety Disorders." In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: The American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

Clark, R. Barkley. "Psychosocial Aspects of Pediatrics & Psychiatric Disorders." In Current Pediatric Diagnosis & Treatment, ed. William W. Hay Jr., et al. Stamford: Appleton & Lange, 1997.

Corbman, Gene R. "Anxiety Disorders." In Current Diagnosis. Vol. 9. Ed. Rex B. Conn, et al. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1997.

Doctor, Ronald M., and Ada P. Kahn. The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties. New York: Facts On File, 1989.

Gaylin, Willard. Feelings: Our Vital Signs. New York: Ballantine Books, 1979.

Nemiah, John C. "Psychoneurotic Disorders." In The New Harvard Guide to Psychiatry, ed. Armand M. Nicholi Jr. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1988.

"Psychiatric Disorders: Anxiety Neurosis." In The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 16th ed. Ed. Robert Berkow. Rahway, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 1992.

Rebecca J. FreyM

KEY TERMS

Agoraphobia—Abnormal anxiety regarding public places or situations from which the patient may wish to flee or in which he or she would be helpless in the event of a panic attack.

Compulsion—A repetitive or ritualistic behavior that a person performs to reduce anxiety. Compulsions often develop as a way of controlling or "undoing" obsessive thoughts.

Obsession—A repetitive or persistent thought, idea, or impulse that is perceived as inappropriate and distressing.

Panic attack—A time-limited period of intense fear accompanied by physical and cognitive symptoms. Panic attacks may be unexpected or triggered by specific cues.