Is Anxiety Hereditary? | Genetic Anxiety

When in a new situation or facing a particularly challenging time in your life, it is natural to be a little anxious about it. You may be worried about making a favorable impression at an interview or concerned about getting to know neighbors in a new town. However, if those feelings of worry or fear do not go away or become worse, you could have an anxiety disorder. Is anxiety hereditary?

Types of Anxiety Disorders

There are several different types of anxiety disorders. Excessive worry about everyday things such as health, work, routine life events, and social interactions are part of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The intense fear can cause serious issues in the individual’s daily activities at work, school, and in personal relationships.

Panic disorder is another type of anxiety disorder. Individuals who have sudden periods of intense fear that come on quickly may have panic disorder. Recurrent unexpected panic attacks occur unexpectedly. They can also be brought on a particular situation or object that is feared by the individual.

When someone has a phobia, they have an intense fear of situations or objects that typically do not present any real danger to them. A phobia can be a fear of closed spaces, large gatherings of people, heights, or something else that the individual feels is a threat to their health and safety.

Anxiety Symptoms

Symptoms will vary, depending on the type of anxiety and the person experiencing it. Some people have nightmares or painful thoughts they can’t control. Some have a general feeling of worry or fear. Symptoms of general anxiety include restlessness, trouble concentrating, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and difficulty falling asleep.

Is Anxiety Hereditary?

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health disorders. The specific cause of anxiety, like many other such disorders, is unknown. Research on families and twins have determined that both genetics and environment are factors in whether an individual develops anxiety. The studies found that the heritability of the disorder to be at 30% to 50%.

Anxiety is considered to be partially genetic, meaning it can be hereditary, but family can influence the onset of an anxiety disorder in many different ways. If a family member had an anxiety disorder, it increases the possibility that you will also have the condition. However, it doesn’t mean you are destined to inherit it.

Nature and Nurture

Your life experiences, including your family environment, can also play a role in whether you will develop an anxiety disorder. The heritability rate cited by researchers means that if a member of your family, including parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, have the condition, your chances of inheriting genetic anxiety increase. Scientists have found that genes located on chromosome 9 are associated with anxiety.

Researchers also recognize the importance of nurture, the environment in which you grew up, in determining certain types of illness that affect both physical and mental health. Other factors in your life, including traumatic experiences as a child or a young adult, also have an impact on your potential for developing an anxiety disorder.

You may have had a particularly frightening experience involving being trapped in a tight space, for example, and that could very well contribute to a phobia known as claustrophobia. With this fear of tight spaces becoming more significant as you age, you will find that you try to avoid such situations completely.

Your family can also influence your mental health in other ways. Parents model certain behaviors for their children, intentionally or not. If a parent does not enjoy social interactions, they may avoid engaging with others in a social setting. A child growing up in this environment may find that they start to also avoid social events and that behavior could develop into social anxiety as they grow up.

California Faith-Based Mental Health and Addiction Treatment

Celebrate Hope is here for you when you need help with mental health issues, such as an anxiety disorder, particularly when it co-occurs with addiction. Please contact Celebrate Hope to learn more about our faith-based dual diagnosis treatment program. Our team helps men and women address the vicious cycle of mental illness and addiction so they can begin life anew. We rely on the teachings of Jesus Christ, along with evidence-based therapies to get individuals on the path of recovery.

What Does PTSD Look Like?

You were in a very close call when another car almost ran head-on into yours. You witnessed a disturbing violent act against someone in your family. You experienced abuse as a child. You lived through the fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. You were in combat as a member of the military. Any of these, and many other traumatic experiences could cause you to have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). During PTSD Awareness Month, it’s important to understand what PTSD looks like.

PTSD Causes

PTSD is typically associated with the military, but anybody who’s experienced a traumatic event can have the anxiety disorder. A crime, fire, accident, or death of a loved one can be traumatizing. An extended experience such as long-term abuse or even the pandemic can also have a devastating effect which could leave someone with PTSD.

When an event occurs, such as a car accident, the individual may feel upset for a while but often that feeling will get better with time. If the individual becomes more fearful and anxious, and begins displaying symptoms that last longer than a month, they could have PTSD. The disorder affects about 7-8% of the population, with women more likely to be affected than men. Symptoms usually start within three months of the events, but they can surface much later.

What Does PTSD Look Like?

The anxiety disorder can look different for different people. There may be physical symptoms such as shaking, sweating, headaches, dizziness, stomach issues, and chest pain. The individual may also experience a weakened immune system, which could lead to frequent infections. Sleep disturbances can be an issue for some people, which can result in a feeling of being tired as well as other problems.

PTSD may also manifest itself in long-term behavioral changes, which can contribute to issues on the job and with personal relationships. An individual with PTSD may start to use or misuse drugs, medications, and alcohol. Behavioral changes can include becoming sad and hopeless, paranoid, fearful, or angry. An individual may withdraw from social interaction and lose interest in once-favorite activities.

Feeling Stressed or Frightened

When something potentially dangerous happens to a person, their natural sense of “fight or flight” will usually kick in. These split-second changes in the body and the mind help defend against danger or avoid it completely. Once the danger has passed, an individual’s reaction to it can continue to cause issues, in the form of the anxiety disorder PTSD. People who have PTSD continue to feel frightened or stressed, even after they are no longer in danger.

A traumatic event does not have to be life threatening to cause PTSD. An unexpected death of a close loved one can also leave an individual feeling traumatized. The stress of dealing with the isolation and fear of an unfamiliar virus can cause be traumatizing.

Three Main Types of PTSD Symptoms

There are three main types of symptoms associated with PTSD:

• Re-experiencing. A person may re-experience the trauma through flashbacks, nightmares, and other intrusive recollections of the event. Re-experiencing symptoms can include physical symptoms such as sweating or a racing heart.
• Emotional numbness and avoidance. The individual may avoid the people, places, and activities that remind them of their traumatic event or experience.
• Increased arousal. An individual may feel jumpy, have trouble concentrating, or be easily angered or irritated.

Cognition and Mood Symptoms

When an individual has PTSD, they display the symptoms within the three main categories, as well as in the category of Cognition and Mood, for a month or longer. Cognition and mood symptoms can include:

• Having trouble remembering details of the traumatic event
• Experiencing distorted feelings such as blame or guilt
• Negative thoughts about the world or about oneself.

These symptoms can result in the individual feeling alienated or detached from family and friends.

Some people recover from their PTSD within six months, while others take longer. Seeking treatment for the anxiety disorder is always a good idea to help manage the symptoms and process the trauma.

California Faith-Based Addiction Treatment

Celebrate Hope is here for you when you need help with mental health issues, such as the anxiety disorder PTSD, particularly when they co-occur with addiction. Please contact Celebrate Hope to learn more about our faith-based dual diagnosis treatment program. Our team helps men and women address the vicious cycle of mental illness and addiction so they can begin life anew. We rely on the teachings of Jesus Christ, along with evidence-based therapies to get individuals on the path of recovery.