Resources and awareness regarding anxiety disorders in African-Americans are still lacking, researchers say.

According to NBC, various types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and phobias, affect over 40 million adults in the U.S.

The disorder can affect a person’s daily activities, their health and their personal relationships.

Angela Neal-Barnett is the director of Kent State’s Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders among African-Americans in the Department of Psychology. She told NBC that for years, no one has been informing readers about how anxiety disorders affect Black people because scientists assumed it affected them in the same way as Whites.

“Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder in the United States and impacts African-Americans at a higher rate than any other group — especially African-American women,” she said. “When I was a doctoral student I had some questions about anxiety but did not believe what the experts of the day were saying about it.”

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