People who worry about everything — and nothing in particular — have several treatment options.

When people turn on the television, chances are they will experience a barrage of anxiety-provoking news — a sagging economy, international political conflicts, natural disasters. At the same time, they may be dealing with their own personal stress — such as worries about job security or health. Anxiety is often a healthy response to uncertainty and danger, but constant worry and nervousness may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder.

This common disorder affects about 5% to 6% of Americans at some point in their ...

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Physical complaints, substance abuse, and other stealth symptoms may mask the problem.

In many respects, men fare worse than women when it comes to health problems. Men are more likely to have heart attacks than women, for example, and more likely to die of cancer. But men are only half as likely as women to develop one of the most disabling disorders worldwide — major depression. Men are also less likely than women to develop dysthymia (chronic mild to moderate depression) and may be less likely to experience bipolar depression (even though the rate of bipolar disorder is the ...

Understanding why certain perils seem more perilous than others.

Two environmental accidents in different parts of the world — along with media and public reaction to them — have dramatically illustrated some of the basic psychological principles of risk perception. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sent millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan — damaged after a devastating earthquake and tsunami — leaked radiation into the atmosphere.

These incidents dominated news coverage for weeks and created widespread anxiety, even in people living miles away and ...

According to researchers, women with bipolar disorder were more likely to have their condition negatively affected by premenstrual symptoms.

Patients with schizophrenia who received nicotine replacement therapy during hospitalization experienced a decrease in agitation during their stays.

As many who were children before the era of cell phones will remember, contacting a friend by phone often involved mastering at least the following script: "Hi, Mrs. Doe. Is Johnny home?" Not so today, in the world of cell phones, texting, e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.

If you are a parent and don't use or understand the new technologies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just issued a guideline saying that you probably should. More than half of teens connect to a social media site at least daily. Three-quarters have cell phones that they can use for social networking ...