Anxiety and Phobias

UK sources of information and / or support

 The leaflets section of Patient UK

Includes a leaflet called Anxiety Disorders.

 Stress, Anxiety, Depression Confidential Helpline

Aims to encourage individuals suffering with Stress, Anxiety and Depression to seek professional help and any treatment from their general practitioner, and at the same time to educate on the benefits of selfhelp strategies like relaxation, exercise, stress management techniques, etc., to reduce the impact of the illness on their lives, their families lives and to help reduce the risk of future relapse

 First Steps to Freedom

Help, advice and support for those suffering from phobias, panic attacks and obsessional compulsive disorder. Help now available via e-mail.

 STAND

A mental health charity and a leading source of on-line information on stress, anxiety and depression. Aims to provide scientifically based information that is accessible to the general public. Provides a broad range of information, from simple self-help guides, explanation of symptoms, treatment options and other related topics.

 Medicine Guide for Anxiety

Medicine Guides provide reliable information about medicines (drugs), conditions and the different treatment options available. They have been developed in the UK as part of the Medicines Information Project. Includes detailed information about medicines used to treat Anxiety.

 National Phobics Society (The)

Aims to help anyone affected by anxiety disorders including phobic and obsessive disorders.

 Triumph Over Phobia (TOP UK)

TOP UK runs a national network of self-help groups to help people with phobia or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) to overcome their problems using graded self-exposure.

 Pax

For people who suffer from panic attacks, agoraphobia, social phobia & other related phobias & anxiety problems.

 Stresswatch Scotland

Helping sufferers of stress-related disorders including Panic Attacks, Phobias and Anxiety.

 Anxiety Care

A registered charity that specialises in helping people to recover from anxiety disorder and to maintain that recovery. This involves helping to plan, initiate and carry through personal recovery programmes.

 No More Panic

A website which provides information for sufferers and carers of people with Panic, Anxiety, Phobias and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD). .

 Anxiety

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Anxiety.

 Depression and anxiety - computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT)

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Depression and anxiety - computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT).

 Fear Free Flying

Formed to offer a unique reference point on coping with flying anxiety and aerophobia. The features and articles on this website are written by professional journalists and experts - who have a particular interest, or a background in this area.

 Destigmatize.org.uk

An organization working in conjunction with the National Phobic's Society. They aim to provide information and support for sufferers of anxiety disorders mainly, but not exclusively, in the Asian population.

 Needlephobia

A site from healthcare company Smith & Nephew offering facts, information and advice on fear of needles, pins and sharp objects, also known as Belonephobia.

 Gut Reaction

A self-help group formed by a life-long sufferer of emetophobia (fear of vomiting). Whilst this site cannot offer the elusive and definitive 'cure', there are many suggestions and ideas, tips for avoiding food poisoning and information about various medications.

 Stress and anxiety - self help guides

Part of a set of self help guides on mental health issues that have been developed in Northumberland by Clinical Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurses and other Therapists.

 Anxiety and Phobias

Factsheet from the Royal College of Psychiatrists

 Social Phobia

Factsheet from the Royal College of Psychiatrists

 Mental Health Foundation

Provide good information about anxiety.

 Moodjuice

Moodjuice is a site designed to offer information, advice to thoseexperiencing troublesome thoughts, feelings and actions. From the siteyou are able to print off various self-help guides covering conditionssuch as depression, anxiety, stress, panic and sleep problems. In thesite you can explore various aspects of you life that may be causing yousome distress and at the click of a button obtain information onorganisations, services and other self-help materials that can offer yousupport and information to help yourself. Site is provided by NHS Forth Valley.

 Wallsend Self Help Group

Tyneside based support, provided by ex-sufferers, for those with Anxiety, Depression, OCD and other stress and phobia related problems. Although this is a local group, their website gives useful general information on these problems.

 Relaxation Tapes - an independent guide

This site gives independent reviews of relaxation tapes which are used to help with stress, anxiety, pain, and other conditions.

 British Association for Counselling

Among other things it publishes directories and other information to enable those seeking counselling to make an informed choice.

 British Psychological Society

The professional body for psychologists in the UK. Publishes a directory of chartered psychologists in which the names of chartered psychologists who are available directly for consultation by members of the public are listed under their areas of expertise and within geographical areas.

 UK Paruresis Trust

A registered UK charity which provides information about the condition paruresis. A phobia type condition causing an inability to urinate in the presence, real or perceived, of others. Common names for the condition are Shy Bladder, Bashful Bladder or Pee Shy. A medical description is Psychogenic Urinary Retention.

 Scared of flying.com

A site helping anxious flyers to overcome their fear of flying. The site describes the courses available to help ease the worries of anyone who doesn't like flying. Also available from the site the best selling book 'Flying without Fear' by retired British Airways training pilot Captain Keith Godfrey. A forum for questions and sharing personal experiences.

 Airfraid

A comprehensive collection of information and help made available in one place for people who are afraid of flying.

 Anxious Drivers - Specialist Help

Information about an integrated treatment package for anxious drivers, combining Clinical Psychology and driving tuition expertise.

 Social Anxiety UK

The three main aims of this site are to provide a starting point for people just finding out about SA and related issues, to enable them to access further information through this site and through external links; to act as a central hub for the community of those with social anxiety problems in the UK; and to attempt to raise the profile of SA problems and campaign for change, so that in future, people afflicted by them don't have to suffer in silence as so many of us have done in the past.

 British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

The BABCP provide leaflets on anxiety, phobias, Agoraphobia, and the fear of flying.

 MIND

MIND, one of Britain's leading mental health charities, provides various information leaflets on anxiety.

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

• Non-UK disease / illness sites
• Non-UK self-help / support group sites

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

• PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
• Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
• Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, etc.
• Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
• Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
• Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.