My flashbacks are not what you see in movies. I don’t hit the ground and start screaming. I can function to a degree. You might never know I am having strings of thoughts strain through my brain sending a fear throughout my body that almost paralyzes me.

Laughter actually triggers beneficial physical changes in the body, strenthening the immune system by decreasing hormones that compound stress and increasing the presence of antibodies that fight infections.

With the psychiatric side effects of rimonabant (sold as Acomplia in Europe and as Zimulti elsewhere) turning out to be even worse than originally thought, and the effectiveness of this new weight loss drug turning out to be pretty minimal, Sanofi-Aventis has yanked it from the market following a decision by European regulators to suspend marketing approval.

You haven’t seen your family for weeks. Your job performance is literally a matter of life and death. You’re cooped up in a small living space with work colleagues, and you can’t even step outside for a quick breath of fresh air. You’re an astronaut in space, and you’re depressed. Who can you turn to? The answer — a new computerised therapy system being developed for NASA — might turn out to be pretty useful right here on Earth, too.

Anxiety plays a central role in what we have commonly called neurosis. Anxiety plays a minimal role, however, in the problems of the disordered character.

A UK television network is looking into producing a TV programme about love and relationships in the context of anxiety disorders; would you like to share your story?

Some young men use the phrase “lack of self esteem”, although in fact the anxiety they experience puts them constantly centre stage in their own heads. Everyone is looking at them, only what they say and think and do matters, and what they say think and do is always visibly “worse” than what everyone else is saying, thinking and doing.