I-R-S. Just heading these three letters is enough to provoke severe anxiety this time of year. But if one branch of the government making you worry, another -- the National institutes of Mental Health (NIHM) -- can help. help. The NIMH provides information on anxiety disorders through a hotline, 1-888 ANXIETY and Web site, http://www.nihm.nih.gov/anxiety. Both provide bask information on anxiety disorders, and on where to get help.
Take a few deep breaths, however, before calling in or logging on: the hotline greets you with an annoying phone menu (press one if you want to scream), and the Web site sometimes crashes.
One dependable online option the anxious is the news group alt.support.anxiety-panic, where you can kvetch with fellow sufferers about everything that makes your pulse pound -- from filling out 1040s to trying on spring swim suits. A word of warning like most newsgroups, it is unmonitored so don't believe everything you read.
