Anxiety & Stress Disorders

Why do Asian-Americans (especially university students) appear to suffer from higher levels of symptoms of social anxiety than white Americans, yet their high symptom reports are not accompanied by behavioral signs of social anxiety? Is this discrepancy due to culturally determined display rules or biased assessment by those who are culturally different? How does this discrepancy make it difficult for clinicians to accurately assess the severity of social anxiety among Asian-Americans?

Children can now play a more active role in the treatment of their disorders. Using skills and information taught throughout the three treatment phases of cognitive-behavioral therapy (education, application and prevention relapse), they can be taught to understand and address the very fears that cause their disability.

With the advent of computer technology, new forms of therapy have emerged that can help patients. How can a virtual reality environment enable patients to overcome panic disorder and agoraphobia, and what are the advantages to such forms of therapy?

With the seemingly impending war with Iraq, Dr. Stone revisits the Marxist-based film The Battle of Algiers and is surprised to find Islamic fundamentalism prominently featured throughout. Looking back, he finds nothing in the director's or writer's notes, or in critics' writings on the film, to indicate they were aware of its presence-the film was viewed through the context of the time. Are we still making this deadly error in dealing with Muslim nations?

Many options exist for the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders. Are some more appropriate under certain conditions or for some patients? Mechanisms and efficacy of medicinal treatments, as well as some common herbal remedies, are reviewed.

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and potentially debilitating psychiatric conditions. Is heredity linked to anxiety disorders? The importance of early identification and management of children at risk for anxiety disorders is emphasized.

Women are more vulnerable to anxiety and depression, which are linked with the development and progression of heart disease. What has been discovered about the specific psychological outcomes for women with heart disease?

A recent large, randomized, controlled trial showed fluvoxamine to be effective in treating anxiety disorders in children. The eight-week trial raises many questions about anxiety, the most common psychiatric disorder in children. A panel of experts looks at past and future research.

By the time I interviewed Robyn in the emergency room, her panic attack had all but passed. But this 21-year-old woman was still shaken and tearful. This was her first panic attack, and she did not know what hit her. She thought she was having a heart attack. She had a tight feeling in her chest, she was hyperventilating. Her fingers and feet were numb and tingling. She experienced what she called a "closing in feeling." Robyn thought she was going to die.

In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers found that mice and rats subjected to stressful stimuli were more likely to develop viral infections and tumors than nonstressed animals (Miller, 1998). Today, that once-pioneering research in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) has burgeoned into sophisticated clinical studies that look at, for example, how caregiving can affect the immune system, how stress may delay wound healing and how pretreatment with an antidepressant prevents cytokine-induced depression in therapy for cancer.

Developmental traumatology research is the systemic investigation of the psychiatric and psychobiological impact of overwhelming and chronic interpersonal violence on the developing child.

Considered a "fringe" therapy 25 years ago, biofeedback has matured today to a modality much closer to mainstream treatment. Its value is accepted by a growing number of professionals, and it is covered by Medicare for some conditions, as well as by most health insurers.

Because of the very prominent physical symptoms of panic disorder, many see their primary care doctor or a specialist, such as a pulmonologist, first.

In May 1997, a young Rwandan girl came to a clinic in Kigali reporting nausea and the feeling of insects crawling on her face. She complained of the strong smell of feces and grew increasingly agitated and fearful, describing vivid images of people trying to kill her at that moment. For months she had vomited at the sight of avocados, and for three years she had been unable to tolerate the sight of rice.

Panic disorder is a prevalent, debilitating illness associated with high utilization of multiple medical services, poor quality of life and a high incidence of suicide. Short-term efficacy of time-limited cognitive-behavioral and medication treatments has been demonstrated in many studies. Evidence for long-term efficacy of these treatments, however, is sparse and less convincing.