Is anxiety hereditary?

There is a clear idea that anxiety can be hereditary, as long as the environmental conditions are given for it to develop. In these times, the belief has been forged that the development of attitudes, emotions and thoughts related to anxiety is determined by genetic inheritance. Knowing what the family history is, many people question the origin of the anxiety that they manifest in many situations of daily life. However, there are still questions that have not been answered on this subject. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how the nervous system works to determine if a person you can inherit an anxiety disorder, considering what the chances are that this happen.

To avoid further confusion, in this Psychology-Online article we will explain if anxiety is hereditary.

Index

1. Is anxiety inherited?
2. What are the chances of inheriting anxiety
3. Can hereditary anxiety be prevented?

The anxiety can be inherited due to genetic factors

The main reasons that trigger anxiety:

1. genetic predisposition: It is associated with the development of high levels of anxiety. If either parent has diagnosed anxiety, there is a good chance that the person has the same clinical picture.
2. brain composition: It can be inherited by several generations within the same family. In these cases, there is a dysregulation in the functioning of an area called the "cortex", in charge of emotional processing. According to various investigations, it has been verified that hereditary anxiety can be linked to this brain sector.

In this article you will find more information about the Causes of anxiety.

The chances of inheriting anxiety are high if there are relatives who have developed it throughout life. For this reason, anxiety disorders can be inherited if there has not been a specialized treatment that addresses the problems generated by the condition.

However, the environment in which a person is raised also interferes in the development of this pathology. In fact, despite being inherited, anxiety would not develop if there are no stressful situations that trigger it. Therefore, the development of anxiety is independent of heredity and moments in life must appear that trigger anxiety responses.

Taking these aspects into account, we can come to the conclusion that anxiety can be inherited, but it does not necessarily manifest itself explicitly. In the case of a person with a family with anxiety traits, there is a notorious probability of inheriting anxiety.

Hereditary anxiety can be prevented from a series of measures that help combat it. In this section we will point out the main strategies to deal with it:

• Perform psychological therapy: psychotherapeutic treatment provides tools to cope in a more pleasant way those situations that produce anxiety. Beyond the fact that anxiety can be hereditary, psychological therapy works on the fact that the person can have other types of attitudes, emotions and thoughts in daily life. In this way, it is possible to prevent hereditary anxiety.
• Take psychiatric medication: Anxiolytic drugs reduce high levels of anxiety that are generated by a regulation of the central nervous system. The goal there is to increase the involvement of a chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid, which slows the synaptic connections of the brain. The intake of this class of drugs should always be supervised by a mental health professional to avoid side effects.
• Identify anxiety situations: It is important to know what are the reasons that cause anxiety. One of the most effective ways is to write on a paper and/or digital document those emotions, thoughts and situations that were experienced at a certain time.
• Maintain a healthy diet: the intake of foods that inhibit part of the central nervous system has positive effects on anxiety management. Within the range of healthy eating, the intake of dairy products, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and the intake of both relaxing infusions and mineral water can be recommended.
• Doing physical activity: Exercise helps regulate hereditary anxiety because it causes us to release endorphins, neurotransmitters associated with pleasure. In addition, physical activity allows thoughts that trigger anxiety to be processed through an activity that generates physical and mental well-being.

This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Is anxiety hereditary?, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Duenas Amaya, L. (2019). Genetic and epigenetic predisposing factors of anxiety disorders. Iberoamerican Journal of Psychology, 12 (1), 62-68.
• Sierra, J. C., Ortega, V., Zubeidat, I. (2003). Anxiety, anguish and stress: three concepts to differentiate. Mal-estar E Subjectividade Magazine, 3 (1), 10-59.