Hysteria became a term used to describe anxiety and other related disorders beginning in the 16th century, according to Anxiety-panic.com. Hysteria was thought to be the reason for a woman's involvement in witchcraft by English physician Edward Jorden in 1603. The term was later used to describe many mental disorders throughout the 1600s. The late 1800s throughout the late 1900s became a key period of learning about and understanding anxiety disorders and how to treat them.
Misconceptions
During the Civil War, Dr. Jacob Mendez Da Costa referred to "irritable heart syndrome" when treating soldiers suffering from shortness of breath, palpitations, respiratory problems and digestive disorders. He believed it also occurred in civilians. The disorder was treated with digitalis, opium and other drugs. Da Costa's views were published in 1871 and would have been diagnosed today as anxiety, according to the Canadian Psychiatric Association. Ethyl alcohol, opiates and bromide salts were used to treat "weakness of the nerves" by the late 1800s. The Russians began sending psychiatrists into battle to treat soldiers during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. Barbiturates came of use in the early 20th century to treat anxious symptoms because of the drugs' sedative effect. However, sterilization of the mentally ill was performed on thousands of people in the early 1900s.
Identification
In 1913, John B. Watson introduced the term "behaviorism" to suggest that people could be conditioned to fear certain situations that cause anxiety. In the 1930s, muscle relaxation to help relieve anxiety and later used in modern-day muscle-relaxation techniques, was being explored. Brain research to study emotional effects led to the development of electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, to use an electric shock on patients suffering from anxiety symptoms. The technique is used today as a last resort for patients with severe anxiety disorders and who may be suicidal.
Significance
Researchers studied anxiety, panic attacks and shell shock throughout World War II. They concluded that any solder could suffer from the anxiety disorders during battle. The National Mental Health Act was enacted in 1946 to improve the mental health of citizens through research and treatment. The National Institute of Mental Health was established in 1949 to deal with mental health problems suffered by veterans of World War I and II.
Theories/Speculation
Behavior therapy came into widespread use during the 1950s to help patients confront their anxiety by imagining themselves in fearful situations and becoming desensitized to them. Doctors began prescribing tranquilizers to anxiety sufferers in the 1950s. Neuroscience grew rapidly during the 1960s as researchers began exploring the biological connections to anxiety. Librium became the first anxiety medication used in psychiatry in 1960. Doctors would become aware of the addictive properties of some medications over the years. However, new medications began flourishing throughout the 1960s and the rest of the 20th century to treat anxiety symptoms. Antidepressants became common prescription drugs for the treatment of anxiety as well as depression.
Research
Genetic factors became linked to phobias and panic disorders in the 1980s. The Phobia Society of America, which later became the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, was founded in 1980 to promote awareness of anxiety disorders. The term anxiety disorder had not yet been widely used, the association notes. However, research that linked abnormal blood flow in the brain to panic attacks helped lead to new medications and treatments of anxiety disorder. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America changed its name in 1990 to reflect the growing knowledge about anxiety disorders.
Prevention/Solution
As researchers began identifying new neurotransmitters in the brain throughout the 1990s, it was realized that brain chemicals, such as dopamine and serotonin, were involved in relieving anxiety disorders. New antidepressants to increase levels of certain brain chemicals, along with psychotherapy and a better understanding of behavior therapy, has helped improve the lives of many patients suffering from anxiety disorders, which include generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
