Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Depression and Anxiety

Newest medical and non-medical treatment options for managing depression and anxiety

Sadness or depression may be caused by a setback or a loss, and anxiety may be triggered by a threat or a challenge. Often these feelings of depression or anxiety are appropriate and transitory. But if they persist or occur spontaneously and begin to impair daily life, a mood or anxiety disorder may be present.

• Mood disorders include depression and bipolar disorder (a term used to indicate an illness with episodes of both depression and mania). Usually, both depression and bipolar disorder are episodic—that is, bouts of illness are separated by periods of remission.

• Anxiety disorders are characterized by either recurrent or persistent psychological and physical symptoms that interfere with normal functioning, continue in the absence of obvious external stresses, or are excessive responses to these stresses. Specific anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobic disorders.

This area of Johns Hopkins Health Alerts covers recent advances—including the newest medical and non-medical tools—for managing mood and anxiety disorders, and also discusses various barriers to treatment and details the ways you and your doctor or therapist can overcome them.

Depression and Anxiety Articles:

• Antidepressants

• Anxiety

• Bipolar Disorder

• Depression

• Depression Symptoms

• Depression Treatment

• Mood Disorders

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Phobias

Depression and Anxiety Glossary

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