The anti-anxiety drugs are to help patients to [originaltext] Many people suf

Many people suffer from some form of extreme anxiety. Some experience occasional attacks of panic for no apparent reason. Others go around in a state of continual uneasiness. The usual way of controlling anxiety is with drugs, which cure none of the conditions described but do help patients manage their anxiety. Patients who take these drugs say that they are able to work, to sleep, and to go to places they had feared to visit. But the effects of the drugs on the human body, especially on the nervous system, have been unknown.
    We have started a series of studies to identify the effects of the drugs on the brain and have gained some insight into the costs and benefits of the anti-anxiety drugs. They are valuable because they can reduce the effects of anticipated failure, frustration, and disappointment. But their value demands a price. Two effects of the drugs are obviously harmful. First, they weaken a person’s ability to react to changes; second, they fail to help a person deal with unexpected troubles. It is fairly sure that people will meet with problems they have never expected, so these harmful effects may make the price of anti-anxiety drugs too high.