Anxiety Disorders Association of America
Encyclopedia
Anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety. Conditions now considered anxiety disorders only came under the aegis of psychiatry at the end of the 19th century. Gelder, Mayou & Geddes explains that anxiety disorders are...
s in children and adults. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is the leader in education, training, and research for anxiety and stress-related disorders. The mission statement of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is to promote the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety and stress-related disorders through advocacy, education, training, and research.
Forty million U.S. adults, or one in six adults, suffer from an anxiety disorder, and anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in adults and children. The six anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
(OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder , also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear in social situations causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some parts of daily life...
(social phobia), panic disorder
Panic disorder
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring severe panic attacks. It may also include significant behavioral change lasting at least a month and of ongoing worry about the implications or concern about having other attacks. The latter are called anticipatory attacks...
, and specific phobias
Phobia
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
.
ADAA offers free educational information and resources about anxiety disorders, local treatment provider referrals, self-help groups, self-tests, clinical trial listings, and more. ADAA promotes the message that anxiety disorders are real, serious, and treatable.
History
Founded in 1980 as the Phobia Society of America by a diverse group of clinicians and patients, ADAA changed its name 10 years later to better reflect the distinct anxiety disorders that more sophisticated research had identified. The organization continues to serve clinicians, researchers, and consumers from its Silver Spring, Md.Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, headquarters by funding cutting-edge scientific research through grants and awards and by promoting awareness to remind Americans that anxiety disorders are real and treatable.
ADAA is guided by a board of directors, scientific advisory board, and clinical advisory board and is supported through donations. The association also holds an annual conference that is the only professional meeting to focus on the science and treatment of anxiety and anxiety-related disorders in children and adults. ADAA also publishes self-help books such as "Facing Panic," "Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety Disorder," and informational brochures that are available exclusively through its website.
In spring 2008, ADAA launched "Treat It, Don't Repeat It: Break Free From OCD," a national educational campaign about obsessive-compulsive disorder. The campaign included public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s featuring Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
, host of "Deal or No Deal;" Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
, star of the award-winning TV Series "Monk"
Monk (TV series)
Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
about a detective with OCD; and David Hoberman, co-creator and executive producer of "Monk."
On January 7 2010, Jerilyn Ross, the President, CEO, and one of the founders of ADAA died or neuroendocrine cancer at the age of 63. A few of her awards include the 2004 Patient Advocacy Award from the American Psychiatric Association, the 2001 Anxiety Disorder Initiative Award from the World Council on Anxiety and the World Psychiatric Association, a 200 Telly Award, and a 1994 Distinguished Humanitarian Award from the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology.
What ADAA does
ADAA promotes professional and public awareness of anxiety and related disorders and their impact on people's lives (to all kinds of audiences including school counselors and K-12 teachers). It encourages the advancement of scientific knowledge about causes and treatment of anxiety and related disorders. It also links people who need treatment with the health care professionals who provide it, as well as helps people find appropriate treatment and develop self-help skills so that people can get the treatment that they need. ADAA works to reduce the stigma surrounding anxiety and related disorders.As supporting research is a critical part of their mission, ADAA has funded more than $1 million to 215 anxiety disorders researchers since developing the awards program in 1999. In 2009, ADAA supported 11 anxiety disorders researchers through their Career Development Travel Awards given to early career professionals with a research interest in anxiety and anxiety-related disorders such as basic and clinical neurobiology and psychopharmacology, clinical psychology,genetics, neuroimaging, epidemiology, and public health.
External links
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America
- http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd - Information and resources for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and their families - by ADAA
- http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/college-students - Information for college students by ADAA
- http://www.adaa.org/taking-action/shop Self-help books, published by ADAA