Are You Born With Anxiety

Medical Causes Of An Anxiety Disorder

While anxiety can be experienced by anyone, for many people an anxiety disorder is linked to an underlying medical issue. In some cases, a medical issue may cause an anxiety disorder. In other cases, anxiety and the medical condition may be related, but the medical condition may not have caused the anxiety disorder.

Possible medical causes include:1

• Heart disease
• Thyroid problems
• Asthma
• Drug abuse and withdrawal
• Rare tumors that produce certain “fight-or-flight” hormones
• Muscle cramps or spasms
• And many others

While most anxiety disorders develop in childhood and young adulthood, a medical cause is more likely if the anxiety disorder develops later in life. While common, anxiety disorders related to substance abuse or withdrawal are often undiagnosed. Various medications may also cause anxiety disorder symptoms.

Treatments For Social Anxiety Disorder

There are many different ways to treat, manage and cope with social anxiety disorder.

ne of the most common and effective treatments is cognitive behavioral therapy . Given how much social anxiety is connected to irrational thought patterns and distorted thoughts about a social setting, CBT helps people by breaking down those thought patterns, disputing them and reframing the thoughts into more rational ones, according to Alison Seponara, a licensed therapist based in Pennsylvania.

As a CBT therapist, I would begin by asking the client to rate the intensity of their anxiety in different social settings and then break down the thoughts connected to that situation, says Seponara. Its important to recognize these thoughts so you can begin to challenge them and rewire the way the irrational brain is perceiving certain situations.

A psychiatrist may prescribe medication to help manage anxiety, but other psychotherapies that can be used to treat social anxiety include :

You never know what type of challenges life can throw at us, but with the right tools we can 100% learn how to manage our anxiety when faced with adversity, says Seponara. Healing is a lifelong process.

Psychologists And Other Clinicians

Clinical and counselling psychologists specialise in the treatment of mental illnesses, including Anxiety disorders. They can provide psychological treatments, which are usually the most effective treatments for Anxiety disorders.For further information, please see the Psychological treatments section in the Guide to Medication and other Treatments.

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A Permanent Solution Involves Changing The Brain

The only permanent solution is to change your neural pathways and associations. This can only be done by learning new strategies, rational concepts, and new methods to extinguish social anxiety. Then, these new strategies and methods must be practiced and practiced. This is why we always talk about repetition.

Without repetition, neural pathways and associations cannot change. To have a permanent solution for social anxiety, our neural pathways and associations MUST change.

When our neural pathways and associations change, our brain chemistry also changes. This is a permanent change, because you have practiced the new methods and concepts into your brain repetitiously, thus creating new neural associations. The more dense these neural associations are, the more you have recovered from social anxiety.

Everything in life works like this. Whatever you really learn causes new neural pathways in the brain, and, over time, with repetition, you gradually become better and better at something. Find the best method of support for you and get started.

Negative Beliefs And Maladaptive Behavior That Cause Social Anxiety

To protect themselves from various threats they perceive, people sometimes develop a system of negative beliefs and maladaptive behaviors that cause social anxiety. People with social anxiety tend to have at least a few of the following thoughts when ruminating on upcoming social events or situations, according to Klimaite, Smerling and therapist John L. Clarke, who studied psychology with the father of Cognitive Therapy, Aaron Beck:

• Im going to do something embarrassing.
• I am not going to belong.
• I am not likeable.
• People are going to hate me.
• Im going to pass out.
• People are going to be able to tell Im nervous.
• I wont know what to say.
• I have nothing to offer.
• Nobody will want to be my friend.
• I am going to say something stupid.
• Something is wrong with me.

Sometimes these thoughts are connected to self-esteem. When people feel like they are not worth much, its easy for them to believe they cant offer anything in a social situation. It isnt only fear of social criticism. They might not feel like they deserve the benefits of social interactions that will go well.

To negate the risk of these anxieties, people with social anxiety avoid many interactions with others. This strategy may allow them to reduce symptoms and put off confronting their social anxiety, but it comes at the cost of limiting how full their lives are. It also makes it difficult for them to handle social situations when they need to.

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Characteristics Of People With High

If you can relate to the above symptoms then you need to understand these characteristics of a person with high-functioning anxiety:

You might have high-functioning anxiety if:

• You excel in your job but struggle with personal and social relationships.
• Your anxiety makes you look like youre ambitious.
• You look and act put together but in reality, youre struggling.
• Any change in your routine makes you upset.
• Your mind is constantly on and refuses to calm.
• You often zone out when in the company of others.
• You get upset over small things that many people think arent a big deal.
• You cancel plans because youre low on energy.
• Your day off feels like a workday.
• Youre constantly misunderstood by others because you seem put together and fine.

You Have High Verbal Intelligence

The Theory: Verbal intelligence covers writing and reading skills, as well as verbal reasoning ability âwhich might mean that those with higher verbal intelligence have an easier recall of past situations .

The Research: Though the sample size on this 2014 study conducted at Canada’s Lakehead University was tiny , it did present an interesting theory â it tested students both for verbal ability and anxiety, and found a connection between higher verbal intelligence and anxiety. Basically, folks who were good with words were found to also be more likely to worry. Researchers theorized that folks with higher non-verbal intelligence â like visual and hands-on learners, who do better with abstract concepts â might be better able to pick up non-verbal physical cues from those around them, which could help them assess social situations more accurately, and thus be less anxious.

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Can You Inherit Anxiety

There is clear research showing that anxiety is influenced by our genetics. In fact, experts noticed a family connection for anxiety even before they understood how DNA or genes worked.

If you have a close relative with anxiety, your chance of developing it is about 2 to 6 times higher than if you dont. Your risk is even higher if you have an identical twin with anxiety , even if they grew up in a different household than you.

These days we know that certain genes come with a risk for developing anxiety. We also know that genes can be turned on or off based on triggers in our environment. A complicated illness like anxiety probably depends on a pattern of inherited and activated genes.

Scientists are working to figure out exactly which genes cause anxiety. Theyve identified a number of different possibilities. Many of the genes theyve found cause anxiety in some people, but not in others. In the future we will have a better understanding of why that is.

Where Should I Go For Help

You can talk to your GP on your own or with your child, or your child might be able to have an appointment without you. The doctor should listen to your concerns and offer some advice about what to do next.

Your child may be referred to the local child and adolescent mental health service , where the workers are trained to help young people with a wide range of problems. Professionals who work in CAMHS services include psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists. They should offer help and support to parents and carers as well as the child.

More about CAMHS from Young Minds

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How Anxiety Disorders Can Affect Peoples Lives

Its understandable that people will change their behaviour to try to avoid distressing symptoms of Anxiety disorders. This can then start to have an impact on their lives.Someone with a Social anxiety disorder, for example, will avoid situations where other people are present. This can lead to them having no social life, experiencing great loneliness, and even stopping them from working.Anxiety disorders are often accompanied by depression, so that both will need to be treated see Depression).People who experience psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations such as those with schizophrenia, for example may also experience symptoms of an anxiety disorder see Bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia.

How Much Anxiety Is Too Much

Ask yourself the following questions to help gauge whether your anxiety is reasonable or too much:

• How long have I been experiencing this high level of anxiety?

• How much is it upsetting to me or causing me distress?

• Is it starting to interfere with my daily life?

• Do others in my life think I am too anxious?

• Is my anxiety negatively affecting my relationships?

• Is my anxiety negatively affecting my enjoyment of my baby?

Remember that some anxiety is normal and to be expected

It is also normal for anxiety levels to wax and wane over your life. This is true during the postpartum period as well. Some days or even weeks you may feel more anxious than others. Then something shifts and you feel better again. For example, your baby slowly loses weight for a week and you worry. You worry about ever getting a good night’s sleep again. You worry whether your relationship with your husband or partner will ever get back on track. Then things slowly get better and you feel more energetic and calm. Hey, maybe I can handle this, you think to yourself. Then your baby gets the flu and you worry again. This is the roller-coaster ride of early motherhood.

For some, normal levels of anxiety can escalate and turn into an anxiety disorder.

An anxiety disorder is when the anxiety is severe enough to interfere with your daily life at home and/or at work over a longer period of time. It feels like incapacitating fear.

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Are You Born With Anxiety Or Do You Develop It

Most researchers conclude that anxiety is genetic but can also be influenced by environmental factors. In other words, it’s possible to have anxiety without it running in your family. There is a lot about the link between genes and anxiety disorders that we don’t understand, and more research is needed.

Are Babies Born Anxious Or Is Anxiety Thrust Upon Them

Parents often say their childs personality was apparent from day one, but can adult personality really be predicted from the way a baby behaves while still in diapers?

That was the question researchers investigated in a study published Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Researchers followed 135 children from infanthood through early adulthood, and found that, for boys at least, being a fussy, reactive infant in the first few months of life was associated with a stronger neurological reaction to unfamiliar faces at age 18 a reaction researchers believe signals a propensity toward social anxiety and possibly depression later on.

When the study subjects were 4 months old, researchers evaluated whether they were high reactive, meaning they fussed and cried when presented with loud noises or unfamiliar smells, or low reactive, meaning they didnt react in this fearful or agitated manner when presented with new stimuli. Researchers suspected that the high reactive infants would continue to have a negative response to unfamiliar stimuli up through adulthood, though as adults, this fear of the unfamiliar might manifest as social anxiety, generalized anxiety or depression.

In the past few decades, however, psychologists have started to pay more attention to the disposition babies express very early on in life, and how temperament may serve as a window into a childs future personality and mental health.

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How Do I Find Out More

Read SANEs Anxiety Guide for more in-depth information on anxiety.

SANE factsheets provide brief, introductory information about mental health. It is important to ask your doctor about any concerns you have.

SANE Australia also produces a range of easy-to-read publications and multimedia resources on mental illness.

For more information about this topic see the resources below.

What Causes Anxiety Disorders

Its a question that is so difficult to answer. Its not like having a cold – you cant simply wake up with an anxiety disorder because you forgot to wash your hands before picking your nose.

Anxiety disorders are forged over years of experiences. They have a genetic component, an upbringing component, an environmental component. Every experience youve ever had can craft your anxiety disorder, just as any experience youve had in life can ensure you never get one.

Anxiety may even have no real cause at all.

There are also many forms of anxiety. There are different causes of OCD, causes of panic attacks, causes of PTSD, causes of generalized anxiety disorder, causes of phobias every experience and every anxiety is unique in some way.

Still, the best way to understand what created your anxiety disorder is to break it down into the two main causes:

• Biology
• Environment

These do not account for all anxiety symptoms. In fact, anxiety can, in some ways, create itself something that we will explore near the end of the guide. But generally, the two causes of anxiety are your body, and your experiences in the world around you.

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How Does Treatment For Anxiety Disorders Help

Treatment can help manage, reduce or even eliminate the symptoms associated with anxiety disorders. Treatment can include:

• psychological therapy an effective treatment for most people affected by anxiety disorders
• medication may also be helpful.

Once a diagnosis is made, treatment can be provided by a GP, or they may give a referral to a psychiatrist, psychologist or other suitably qualified health professional.

With the appropriate treatment and support, most people can learn to deal with their symptoms and get on with their lives again.

Personal Stories: Salima Jennifer And Ellen

Salima

Salima is a single mom with a three-month-old son, Arman. Salima experienced a healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy and was relieved when she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The first month was a big adjustment for Salima, but overall things were going as well as she could hope. She was finally getting into a routine with feeding but Arman wasnt sleeping for long stretches and Salima was exhausted.

About four weeks after Arman was born, Salima unexpectedly started to experience unexplained periods of dizziness. It felt like the room was spinning and things were unreal or dreamlike. She would have to sit or lie down until the sensation passed. Also, out of the blue, her heart would suddenly feel like it was racing. She would feel jittery and nervous, like she had too much caffeine. These sensations were especially likely to happen if she had been worrying about something for a long time. Salima completely lost her appetite and only felt like eating a few items like green apples and toast. Salimas doctor asked if she was feeling depressed but she thought the symptoms didnt quite fit. She wondered if her physical and mental changes were due to hormonal changes and lack of sleep.

Jennifer

Jennifers husband is trying to be understanding but hes getting tired of her obsessing and strange rituals. Sometimes she just wants to run away and leave her family forever. At least then she knows her thoughts would never come true.

Ellen

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