The focus of this Special Report on anxiety disorders is not accidental. Anxiety disorders are, probably next to substance abuse, the most common mental disorders in the general population, and definitely the most common mental disorders among children and adolescents.
Han Shan was a Taoist/Buddhist hermit-poet who lived in China's Tientai Mountains 1,200 years ago. An immortal figure in Chinese literature and Zen, his name means Cold Mountain, which he used to refer to himself and the mountain retreat where he lived.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic, impairing and highly comorbid psychiatric condition. A small but sufficient group of empirically supported instruments to assess the severity of GAD are now available.
Despite high prevalence and negative consequences of anxiety disorders in later life, this area has received little research attention. A relatively small number of outcome investigations on late-life anxiety have focused on the impact of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments.
