Anxiety Related to Anti-Anxiety Medications 19 million Americans (about one in eight) between the ages of 18 and 54 suffer from anxiety disorders. (1) When I heard this statistic, I realized how important the discussion of such disorders is to science. 1/8th of the most productive portion of the American population suffers from an anxiety disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the federal government's National Institutes of Health, is committed to researching the causes and treatment of these disorders. (2) Progress has been made, comparing animal studies to human studies, in identifying specific areas of the brain. Anxiety is associated with fear – fear of a specific object or situation, generalized fear and worry, recurring frightening memories, etc. The NIMH discovered that a specific part of the brain, the amygdala, controls the body's automatic response to fear. When the brain is confronted with fear, it takes two actions. First, the brain transmits information to the cerebral cortex (the thinking part of the brain) to inform it of what specifically puts the individual in danger. Second, the brain transmits the same information to the amygdala, so that the body can prepare for action. Beyond this information, little is known about the causes or mechanisms of anxiety. Certainly, understanding which parts of the brain are affected or control anxiety is an important step. However, little conclusive evidence or useful conclusions have been drawn regarding anxiety. With this information in mind, I began to think about my personal experiences with anxiety. One day I went to the emergency room, expressing an inability to breathe and dizziness. It was concluded that I... middle of paper ... the brain, assuming that medications directly treat anxiety. This is a sort of process of elimination – it is a step in the scientific process of discovery. So, prescribing such drugs may make it easier for researchers. However, I think the scientific community should keep in mind the potential dangers of this method before applying its results directly to patients.References1) National Institute of Mental Healthhttp://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ anxresfact.cfm2) National Institute of Mental Healthhttp://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/anxresfact.cfm3) Medical resources in neuropsychology and medical psychologyhttp://www.driesen.com/index.html4) Medical resources in neuropsychology and medical psychologyhttp://www.driesen.com/ssris.htm5) PDR Healthhttp://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/rxdrugprofiles/drugs/ata1035.shtml