The trial was a double-blind cross-over study in which patients presenting in general practice with anxiety received haloperidol (Serenace) 0·5 mg. twice daily for two weeks and a placebo of identical appearance for two weeks in random order. Forty-three patients entered the trial. Of these, six failed to attend for follow-up and one proved impossible to assess. A further eight completed the first two-week period of assessment only (5 active drug, 3 placebo) but are included in the analysis. There were equal numbers of men and women, aged 24 to 71 years.