A 2026 theory paper proposes that Chinese university students giving presentations in English handle their nerves better when the classroom builds their confidence. It is a framework with no new data, but the problem it targets is well documented: speaking anxiety goes with weaker language performance.1 Research Highlights A proposal, not a study: the paper …
About 1 in 5 adults receiving outpatient psychiatric care for mood or anxiety-related conditions in Japan met full diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, a 2026 study at 22 clinics found. Most of them had a different main diagnosis on file, usually depression.1 Research Highlights 20.4% had GAD: 83 of 407 outpatients met DSM-5 criteria …
College students who saw their AI learning tools as highly adaptive reported less enjoyment, more anxiety and more boredom during the semester, and weaker study self-management by its end, in a 2026 survey of 486 undergraduates in China.1 Research Highlights Less self-directed studying: a more adaptive-feeling AI environment at the start of the semester was …
A virtual reality (VR) headset and a simple hand massage from a companion both eased pain and anxiety during emergency room stitches, compared with usual care alone, in a 2026 randomized trial involving 87 adults in Iran.1 Research Highlights 3 arms: 90 adults with cuts needing sutures were randomized to usual care, usual care plus …
Among 296 Norwegian university students, believing worry is uncontrollable and dangerous was strongly linked to neuroticism: the tendency to feel anxious, sad, irritable and easily stressed. This link remained after accounting for the other 4 major personality traits in a 2026 study.1 An exploratory model drew an arrow from worry beliefs to neuroticism, but the …
Nearly 1 in 5 people with COPD in Lithuania had a recorded diagnosis of anxiety or depression, according to a nationwide study of 64,246 patients. Anxiety was far more common than depression, and most patients who received medication were prescribed benzodiazepines.1 Research Highlights 18.1% had a recorded diagnosis: 11,608 of 64,246 adults with COPD in …
University students who used an AI chatbot for 12 weeks ended with anxiety scores about 2 points lower than students in weekly group therapy, in a randomized trial of 977 students in Israel.1 The gap was still there 3 months later. But it came less from the chatbot users improving a lot than from anxiety …