Anxiety News

February 24, 2025

Top Headlines

'Loot Box' Virtual Rewards Associated With Gambling and Video Game Addiction

Feb. 19, 2025 — A new study of more than 1400 adults who gamble and play online video games has found loot box buying is associated with real-world gambling, video gaming addiction, and other mental health issues. ...

Scientists Find Key Differences in Male, Female Responses to Stress

Feb. 13, 2025 — A new study led by researchers at UF Health has uncovered why males and females may experience stress ...

Postpartum Depression Discovery Opens Door to Blood Test, Earlier Treatment

Feb. 13, 2025 — New postpartum depression findings could lead to a blood test to identify women at risk and possibly even to a preventive ...

Scientists Discover Brain Mechanism That Helps Us Overcome Fear

Feb. 6, 2025 — Researchers have unveiled the precise brain mechanisms that enable animals to overcome instinctive fears. The study in mice could have implications for developing therapeutics for fear-related disorders such as phobias, anxiety and post-traumatic ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:31pm EST

Scientists Reveal Gut Microbes' Hidden Role in Anxiety: Could Probiotics Be the Next Mental Health Breakthrough?

Feb. 5, 2025 — Could the key to easing anxiety be hidden in our gut? Scientists have discovered a crucial connection between gut microbes and anxiety-related ...

Innovative Program Helps Seniors Manage Stress

Feb. 3, 2025 — A new study shows significant long-term reductions in the stress hormone cortisol in seniors taking part in the O'stress ...

Advanced Brain Circuit-Mapping Technique Reveals New Anxiety Drug Target

Jan. 28, 2025 — Investigators have identified in a preclinical model a specific brain circuit whose inhibition appears to reduce anxiety without side effects. Their work suggests a new target for treating anxiety ...

Patients With Anorexia Have Elevated Opioid Neurotransmitter Activity in the Brain

Jan. 27, 2025 — A study showed that changes in the functioning of opioid neurotransmitters in the brain may underlie ...

Treatment for Children With Obesity Has Lasting Effect

Jan. 21, 2025 — When children with obesity undergo weight-loss treatment, the effects have repercussions later in life and the risk of serious health problems and premature death is lower as they reach young ...

'Ding-Dong:' A Study Finds Specific Neurons With an Immune Doorbell

Jan. 17, 2025 — Neuroscientists have identified that the receptor IL-1R1 plays a critical role in enabling neurons to directly communicate with the immune system. The new study provides the most detailed mapping of ...

Study Reveals That Sleep Prevents Unwanted Memories from Intruding

Jan. 2, 2025 — The link between poor sleep and mental health problems could be related to deficits in brain regions that keep unwanted thoughts out of ...

Almost Three Quarters of Adolescents Experience Depression or Anxiety

Dec. 17, 2024 — Almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study. And preventive strategies ...

Teens With a Reduced Response to Rewards Are More Susceptible to Depression

Dec. 17, 2024 — Novel research shows that a reduced neural response to receiving rewards in teens predicts the first onset of depression, but not anxiety or suicidality. This is independent of pre-existing ...

Antidepressants May Act in Gut to Reduce Depression and Anxiety

Dec. 11, 2024 — In animal studies, boosting serotonin in the cells that line the gut reduced anxious and depressive-like behaviors without causing cognitive or gastrointestinal side ...

Study Explores Whether CBD Can Reduce Scan-Related Anxiety in Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer

Dec. 16, 2024 — A new study explores whether cannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana, can reduce anxiety levels, specifically among patients with advanced breast cancer before a scan assessing tumor ...

College Students' Insomnia Linked More Strongly With Loneliness Than Screen Time

Dec. 4, 2024 — Being lonely is a bigger hurdle to a good night's sleep for college students than too much time at a computer or other electronic screen, a new study ...

New Clinical Pathway Supports Cancer Recurrence Anxiety

Dec. 4, 2024 — Researchers have developed a three-step plan to support those burdened by the intense fear of cancer returning. This plan offers a consistent, streamlined approach to managing recurrence anxiety, ...

Sound of Traffic Increases Stress and Anxiety, Study Finds

Nov. 27, 2024 — Manmade sounds such vehicle traffic can mask the positive impact of nature soundscapes on people's stress and anxiety, according to a new ...

For Those With CTE, Family History of Mental Illness Tied to Aggression in Middle Age

Nov. 27, 2024 — People who have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) who have a family history of mental illness may have a higher risk of aggression in middle age, according to a new ...

Caregivers Experience Decline in Well-Being

Nov. 27, 2024 — New research, based on data from more than 28,000 caregivers in three countries, shows that the longer individuals spend caring for loved ones, the more their well-being suffers, regardless of the ...

Overthinking What You Said? It's Your 'Lizard Brain' Talking to Newer, Advanced Parts of Your Brain

Nov. 22, 2024 — Scientists sought to better understand how humans evolved to become so skilled at thinking about what's happening in other peoples' minds. The findings could have implications for one day ...

Neuroscientists Discover How the Brain Slows Anxious Breathing

Nov. 19, 2024 — Scientists discovered a brain circuit that allows us to regulate voluntary breathing, which connects the brain's emotional and behavioral cortical area to its automatic breathing brainstem area. ...

Stress Makes Mice's Memories Less Specific

Nov. 15, 2024 — Stress is a double-edged sword when it comes to memory: stressful or otherwise emotional events are usually more memorable, but stress can also make it harder for us to retrieve memories. Now, ...

How Stress Is Fundamentally Changing Our Memories

Nov. 15, 2024 — In a new study, researchers identify the biological processes behind stress-induced aversive memory generalization and highlight an intervention which could help restore appropriate memory ...

PTSD Patients Can Benefit Just as Much from Intensive Outpatient Programs as from Inpatient Clinics, New Study Shows

Nov. 14, 2024 — Post-traumatic stress disorder comes in many forms and affects each person differently. Some patients benefit more from residential, in-treatment programs, while others are more suited for outpatient ...

Stress Is Contagious -- For Animals, Too

Nov. 13, 2024 — What happens to animals when their friends are stressed? Is it possible to document the spread of stress within groups of ...

How to Reduce Social Media Stress by Leaning in Instead of Logging Off

Nov. 13, 2024 — Young people's mental health may depend on how they use social media, rather than how much time they spend using it. Psychology researchers tried an experiment with three groups. They asked one ...

Time Alone Heightens 'Threat Alert' in Teenagers -- Even When Connecting on Social Media

Nov. 12, 2024 — Scientists detect a heightened 'threat vigilance' reaction in adolescents after a few hours of isolation, which socializing online doesn't appear to ameliorate. They say the findings ...

Patients May Become Unnecessarily Depressed by Common Heart Medicine

Nov. 11, 2024 — All patients who have had a heart attack are typically treated using beta blockers. According to a recent study, this drug is unlikely to be needed for those heart patients who have a normal pumping ...

'Emotional Contagion' a Factor in Seniors' Mental Health

Nov. 11, 2024 — A new study finds that seniors who tend to mirror other people's feelings are more likely to show signs of being anxious or depressed ...

New Study Challenges Social Media's Mental Health Impact

Nov. 6, 2024 — A new study has challenged the perception heavy social media use has a significant impact on mental health, finding little to no relationship between the two. In fact, not only does the research ...

The Roots of Fear: Understanding the Amygdala

Oct. 30, 2024 — Treating anxiety, depression and other disorders may depend on the amygdala, a part of the brain that controls strong emotional reactions, especially fear. But a deep understanding of this structure ...

The Couples Who Cope Together, Stay Together

Oct. 29, 2024 — A new study has lifted the lid on how couples living with rheumatoid arthritis cope with the debilitating disease finding that those who cope with problems together had less psychological distress ...

Professional Ice Hockey: Depressive Symptoms and Burnout Linked to More Concussions

Oct. 25, 2024 — Elite ice hockey players with a history of concussion report heightened mental health symptoms, according to a new ...