Anxiety Disorders

Gary McMane, 50, of Fontana, is convinced that his own depression has taken a toll on the three children he adores. "They're all good kids, and good in school, but I know it's had a terrible effect on them." His 22-year-old daughter hangs on to her high school boyfriend as a security blanket, he says, and his 17-year-old son seems seriously depressed. Further, he adds, the 13-year-old boy is overly sensitive, feeling compelled to "rescue" anyone who is hurt. Granted, such perceptions are filtered through McMane's own feelings of guilt and responsibility — and his kids might not agree — but he's right to worry.

Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary have been fined about $1.2 billion by an Arkansas judge after a jury found that the companies had downplayed risks associated with Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug. In a verbal ruling from the bench, Circuit Judge Tim Fox held that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. committed nearly 240,000 violations of the state's Medicaid fraud law - one for each Risperdal prescription issued to state Medicaid patients over a 3 1/2-year period.

Eighty percent of the 11 million U.S. adults suffering from phobias or anxiety disorders could be successfully treated in as little as eight weeks with behavior therapy, drugs, or both, doctors estimate. But despite advances in the understanding and treatment of phobias, fewer than 25% of the sufferers of unreasonable fears and severe panic attacks receive treatment, doctors at the annual conference of the Phobia Society of America said last week.

Question: For several years I have been undergoing psychotherapy for a nervous illness, which has now been diagnosed as a general anxiety disorder. I live at an apartment complex that does not allow pets, but my psychiatrist has recently urged me to get a companion animal, which she thinks would give me a positive relationship that would alleviate my anxiety. A friend helped me find a very nice cocker spaniel puppy that was up for adoption. I asked my community manager to allow me to adopt this dog and bring him to live with me. The manager refused, telling me that he was only obligated to allow a service animal such as a guide dog. He said he did not have to accommodate a pet that merely kept me company.

A nationwide effort to heighten awareness about anxiety disorders comes to Orange County this week with a free screening day. The Neuropsychiatric Center at the UCI Medical Center will offer a free educational presentation and screening for anxiety disorders on Wednesday at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Anxiety Disorders Assn. of America, the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and Freedom from Fear.

Feeling anxious or fearful? Wondering if you might need help? The New York-based Freedom From Fear--together with other national mental health advocacy groups--will host National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day on Wednesday at about 1,180 sites nationwide, including more than 70 sites in California.

Roxanne Bachowski spent 15 years convinced she was deathly ill. The mother of two regularly experienced frightening episodes of shortness of breath and dizziness, with her heart pounding and eyes dilated. She made hundreds of trips to doctors and was given countless tests, but medical science could find nothing wrong with her. Once, she recalled, she sneaked into a morgue to be among the dead, whom she longed to join. Almost two years ago, after being rushed to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md.

When people become intensely anxious, the body responds with an adrenaline rush that increases heart and respiration rates -- that sweaty, heart-thumping, gasping-for-air feeling. For the estimated 19 million Americans with anxiety disorders, however, this sensation occurs frequently, often without warning and can interfere with normal activities.

"Anxiety Disorders" A public service announcement produced by the National Institute of Mental Health 30 seconds In widespread release, television and radio This new PSA campaign brings much-needed attention to anxiety disorders, a group of illnesses that affects about 23 million Americans. The PSA features three scenarios depicting how someone with panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder might act in an otherwise normal situation.

www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety People with anxiety disorders often find it difficult to reach out for help. Some people become so overwhelmed by feelings of fear and anxiety that they become housebound. That's why this new Web site is an important addition to the National Institute of Mental Health's arsenal of tools to help people with anxiety disorders.

Reporting from Atlanta -- Hong-Chih Kuo said baseball is fun for him again — and so long as his elbow holds up, the former All-Star reliever intends to pitch again next season. "I'll try to pitch," Kuo said. This wasn't always a given. In a season in which he landed on the disabled list because of an anxiety disorder and performed erratically, there were times when Kuo was noncommittal about his future. Kuo, whose earned-run average was 12.46 as recently as July 31, has looked like the Kuo of old in recent weeks.

The first pitch floated in and soared out, banging hard against the left-field wall, turning the quaint stadium deathly quiet. What on God's unforgiving earth does Hong-Chih Kuo do now? He spent the last month sidelined with an anxiety disorder. The first pitch of his comeback is hammered nearly 400 feet. What happens next? Does he give in to the stage fright that buckled him in Pittsburgh? Is he swallowed by the yips that nipped him two seasons ago? What kind of sick joke is this, anyway?

Latinos have higher rates of diabetes than other ethnic groups. They also appear to have higher rates of having both diabetes and a mood disorder, such as anxiety or depression, according to a new study presented this week at the American Psychiatric Assn.'s annual meeting. Researchers examined the medical records 129 adults diagnosed with diabetes at a rural health clinic in Imperial County, in California, to assess the rates of mood disorders in diabetic Latinos and to determine which illness appeared first.

Reporting from Pittsburgh — The Dodgers have an idea when Rafael Furcal will be back. The same is true of Casey Blake. But asked whether the latest key player to land on the disabled list would return this season, Manager Don Mattingly replied, "It's hard for me to answer that. " Hong-Chih Kuo's ailment isn't physical. The Dodgers put the All-Star reliever on the disabled list because of an anxiety disorder, making the move before a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Gary McMane, 50, of Fontana, is convinced that his own depression has taken a toll on the three children he adores. "They're all good kids, and good in school, but I know it's had a terrible effect on them." His 22-year-old daughter hangs on to her high school boyfriend as a security blanket, he says, and his 17-year-old son seems seriously depressed. Further, he adds, the 13-year-old boy is overly sensitive, feeling compelled to "rescue" anyone who is hurt. Granted, such perceptions are filtered through McMane's own feelings of guilt and responsibility — and his kids might not agree — but he's right to worry.

Irritability in childhood has been suspected of being a potential symptom of depression. A new study confirms this link. Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health questioned the parents of 631 teenagers, whose average age was 13.8, about irritability in their children. Twenty years later, the same children, now adults, were assessed for mood and anxiety disorders. The people who were irritable kids were more likely to be adults with depression or anxiety. However, irritability in adolescence did not predict later development of bipolar disorder or other serious mental health disorders.

Ben Lazarus spent most of his adolescence hiding. He never dated, seldom spoke in class, and ate alone in the library, shunning the social clamor of the cafeteria. "I kept a low profile," Lazarus said. "I didn't really see myself as having a problem." It wasn't until his mother took him to Albany's Phobia and Anxiety Disorders Clinic in 1990 that Lazarus was diagnosed with social phobia.

Even when Khalil Greene homered in his first three games after going on the 15-day disabled list because of social anxiety disorder, St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa held off celebrating. "When he had success in Kansas City, that wasn't really the test," La Russa said. "The test is when you struggle and how you handle it." Greene scuffled the next five games, going one for 17 with five strikeouts, and the anxiety resurfaced.