Anxiety News and Research

Latest Anxiety News and Research

Social media hurts teens with anxiety and depression more than healthy peers

Adolescents with mental health conditions spend more time on social media and engage differently online than their mentally healthy peers, particularly in social comparison and emotional reactivity to feedback. These differences vary by condition type, with internalizing disorders showing stronger effects across key engagement measures.

6 May 2025

Adolescents with mental health conditions show different social media habits

Young people with a diagnosable mental health condition report differences in their experiences of social media compared to those without a condition, including greater dissatisfaction with online friend counts and more time spent on social media sites.

6 May 2025

Rethinking the social side of problem drinking

When picturing a "typical" alcoholic, people tend to imagine a person drinking at home alone. But that focus overlooks the social origins of many serious alcohol problems, say the authors of a new review paper in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science.

6 May 2025

Ultra-processed foods increase risk of anxiety and depression, study shows

A large UK Biobank study linked ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption to increased risks of anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, and other mental health outcomes. A metabolomic signature associated with UPF intake partially mediated these relationships, especially in adults under 60.

5 May 2025

Study: Kissing after a gluten-filled snack is safe for people with celiac disease

People with celiac disease have reported anxiety about ingesting gluten through a kiss, but a new study concludes that they can indulge without worry - even if their partner just had a gluten-filled snack, according to a study to be presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2025.

5 May 2025

A decade of discovery in the science of healthy aging and human longevity

It's notable when a scientific study reaches the decade mark, but when the topic is the healthy aging of people who have lived 10 times as long, it just means there's still a lot more to learn.

5 May 2025

Breakthrough brain training shows promise for Long COVID recovery

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have identified what is believed to be the first intervention found in a randomized controlled trial to show large and very large improvements in multiple symptoms associated with Long COVID, and to result in people debilitated by those symptoms returning to work.

5 May 2025

Ultra-processed foods linked to higher psoriasis risk

A large UK Biobank study found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with an increased risk of developing psoriasis. Each 10% increase in UPF intake raised psoriasis risk by 6%, with obesity and inflammation partially mediating this effect.

4 May 2025

New research maps neural overlap in insomnia, depression, and anxiety

New research from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience maps the similarities and differences between the three most common brain disorders.

3 May 2025

VR-guided meditation helps hospital parents manage stress

Parenting in the hospital is stressful. Moms and dads naturally focus on their ill child, sometimes to the neglect of their own mental health.

2 May 2025

COVID-19 leaves longer-lasting symptoms than flu or pneumonia, study finds

A large U.S. cohort study found that post-acute symptoms after COVID-19 vary by initial disease severity, age, sex, and comorbidities. Compared to influenza and pneumonia, long COVID presented with distinct symptom patterns and longer-lasting effects.

1 May 2025

Getting active in midlife may boost brain resilience to Alzheimer’s

In cognitively healthy middle-aged adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, becoming physically active, especially in line with WHO guidelines, was linked to lower brain amyloid burden. Remaining sedentary was associated with reduced cortical thickness in brain regions vulnerable to AD.

1 May 2025

What predicts belief in the afterlife? A massive global study has answers

A large global study of over 202,000 adults in 22 countries found that belief in an afterlife is shaped not only by religious exposure in childhood, but also by early emotional and familial experiences. Weekly religious attendance at age 12 was the strongest and most consistent predictor of adult afterlife belief.

1 May 2025

High certainty and large rewards boost motivation in formerly depressed individuals

New research shows that individuals who have recovered from depression are generally less willing to exert effort to pursue potential rewards compared to those who have never experienced depression, unless the rewards are large and highly likely.

1 May 2025

ADHD and anxiety show different patterns in boys and girls

ADHD can exacerbate anxiety, and anxiety can exacerbate ADHD. Girls are particularly vulnerable to developing anxiety disorders, but researchers have recently discovered something that may help slow down – or prevent – the development of these types of disorders.

29 Apr 2025

Study uncovers why anxiety and depression lead to low self-belief

Researchers at UCL have uncovered why individuals who experience anxiety and depression often struggle with persistent low self-belief in their abilities.

29 Apr 2025

Northwestern researchers call for better survivorship care for cancer patients

More Americans are beating cancer than ever, yet many still grapple with treatment's long shadow - especially on their mental health.

29 Apr 2025

Why different loneliness tests still identify the same emotional struggles

Researchers examined how loneliness classifications, by frequency, distress, or chronicity, relate to cognitive and behavioral traits in 790 adults. Despite modest agreement between classification methods, the study found consistent psychological patterns among lonely individuals across all types of loneliness.

29 Apr 2025

Cancer-related fatigue and depression found to limit recreational activities in survivors

Cancer survivors who reported feeling cancer-related fatigue or depression reduced their recreational activities nearly twofold, with females more likely than males to report feeling either cancer-related fatigue or depression, according to a retrospective study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, held April 25-30.

29 Apr 2025