Phobia News and Research

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Fears are a common part of an individual’s life. However, a phobia is more than a simple fear. It starts and develops into something massive when the affected person begins to organise their life around avoiding the feared object – be it an animal, insect, place, situation or just about anything.

Amygdala activation to interpersonal threat can be specifically linked to the severity of social anxiety symptoms

People suffering generalised social phobia experience increased brain activity when confronted with threatening faces or frightening social situations, new research shows.

28 Nov 2005

Scientists discover gene which controls fear

Scientists have discovered the existence of a gene that appears to control whether fear reactions to impending danger are appropriate or not.

20 Nov 2005

Distress caused by hot flushes seriously under-played

A study by UK researchers of over 200 breast cancer patients receiving hormone treatments such as tamoxifen has found that nearly two-thirds would prefer to take a tablet daily and around a quarter would prefer a monthly injection, given that both treatments would be equally effective and have similar side-effects.

19 Oct 2005

Anxiety disorders can compromise success of alcohol-dependence treatment

Individuals who have an anxiety disorder when starting treatment for alcohol dependence have a significantly greater risk for relapse to drinking within four months, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.

18 Aug 2005

Researchers find genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered a genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans--one of the most important but least understood aspects of human nature.

13 Jul 2005

Researchers discover genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans

Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered a genetically controlled brain mechanism responsible for social behavior in humans - one of the most important but least understood aspects of human nature. The findings are reported in Nature Neuroscience.

11 Jul 2005

Experts gather in the fields of childhood and adolescent mental-health problems

Renowned experts in the fields of childhood and adolescent mental-health problems will gather in July to discuss new and effective treatments for a wide-range of mental illnesses affecting children and teens.

30 Jun 2005

Adolescent depression can be as high as 20 percent

Teenage depression is widespread and can become a life-long illness, but is more often transitory, said UCLA Psychology Professor Constance Hammen, who discussed her research at the American Psychological Society's annual convention in Los Angeles.

29 May 2005

Tragic death of 5 year old asthma patient was avoidable and due to complacency of health professionals

At a fatal accident inquiry a sheriff has hit out at the "complacency" of health professionals and a drugs manufacturer over the safety of an asthma inhaler steroid.

25 May 2005

Social anxiety disorder patients may be avoiding their doctor

Patients with social anxiety disorder are less likely to visit their primary care doctors than people with other psychiatric disorders like depression, or patients without mental health disorders, according to new research in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.

16 May 2005

"Among middle-aged African-Americans, there's this huge fear of falling"

Fear of falling, once believed to be mostly a senior citizen problem, is striking African-American middle-aged adults with negative consequences to their health, new Saint Louis University research finds.

9 May 2005

Phobias and panic can be treated with internet-guided self-help

A group of researchers of the Imperial College of London headed by Professor Isaac Marks has published a randomized controlled study on internet-guided self-help for phobias and panic in the May-June issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

23 Apr 2005

Body drumming a hit for phobics

Conquering a fear of heights or spiders might be as easy as some strategic body drumming.

10 Jan 2005

Elementary school intervention boosts positive functioning in early childhood

An elementary school intervention program that taught children impulse control and gave their teachers and parents better management skills has long-lasting effects extending into early adulthood, showing that the children are more productive and well-adjusted members of society at age 21, according to a new study.

4 Jan 2005

Extremely shy children have distinct facial expressions

Children who appear to have higher levels of shyness, or a particular gene, appear to have a different pattern of processing the signals of interpersonal hostility, according to a study in the January issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry.

3 Jan 2005

Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites born in the United States have a higher risk for developing psychiatric disorders

According to the results of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study, reported in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites born in the United States have a higher risk for developing psychiatric disorders than their foreign-born counterparts who have immigrated to the United States.

7 Dec 2004

D-cycloserine (DCS), used in concert with psychotherapy, is an effective treatment for some anxiety-related disorders

A tuberculosis drug called D-cycloserine (DCS), used in concert with psychotherapy, is an effective treatment for some anxiety-related disorders, according to research by scientists at Emory University School of Medicine and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN).

8 Nov 2004

Psychiatrically ill and nicotine-dependent individuals consume 70 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States

Psychiatrically ill and nicotine-dependent individuals consume approximately 70 percent of all cigarettes smoked in the United States, according to an article in the November issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Nov 2004

17.6 million American adults (8.5 percent) meet standard diagnostic criteria for an alcohol use disorder

An estimated 17.6 million American adults (8.5 percent) meet standard diagnostic criteria for an alcohol use disorder and approximately 4.2 million (2 percent) meet criteria for a drug use disorder.

5 Aug 2004

Children with chronic fatigue syndrome who exercise recover faster than children who are encouraged to give way to their symptoms

Children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) who leave their beds, start to exercise and are supported by parents who acknowledge the psychological dimension of this debilitating condition, recover faster than children who are encouraged to give way to their symptoms.

10 Jul 2004