Many of us deal with anxiety. The stress of everyday living can get too much, pushing us over the edge. Fortunately, for most people, stress is a temporary emotion that goes away in time.
However, there are some of us that experience persistent feelings of anxiety. The emotion may come out of nowhere, and it can linger for weeks and months at a time. It may hold us back from functioning normally.
People who feel anxiety on an ongoing basis may be dealing with a disorder. Part of treating a condition is understanding its cause.
Many experts feel that anxiety could be a hereditary condition. But is this true? This article will answer the question, is anxiety hereditary so you can get to the root of your emotional issues.
What is Anxiety?
Everyone feels anxiety occasionally, but if you are experiencing it on a regular basis, seemingly for very little or no reason, you may have an anxiety disorder. Symptoms of anxiety include the following:
- Nervousness
- A sense of impending danger
- Increased heart rate
- Rapid breathing
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Fatigue
- Feeling weak
- Trouble concentrating due to excessive worry
- Difficulty sleeping
- Digestive issues
- Uncontrollable worry
- Avoiding things that cause anxiety
What are Common Anxiety Disorders?
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by feelings of anxiety that may be ongoing and caused by nothing or an insignificant incident.
- Phobias are intense fears of a particular person, animal, object, or situation.
- Social anxiety disorder is characterized by feelings of stress or nervousness when in a social setting.
- Panic disorder is a type of anxiety that involves panic attacks.
- Separation anxiety occurs when a person becomes anxious when they are away from a certain person or people or a specific place.
- Selective mutism is a type of response a person has to anxiety. So, when they feel stress or fear, they may choose not to talk or communicate.
- Substance-induced anxiety disorder occurs in people who abuse substances. The substance changes the chemicals in their brain, making them more prone to anxiety. An anxiety-induced substance disorder that occurs when people self-medicate their anxiety issues with illicit drugs is a twist on this.
Is Anxiety Hereditary?
A variety of factors can cause anxiety, but it can be hereditary in some cases. A person with a close relative who has anxiety is 2 to 6 times more likely to develop the disorder than those who do not have a family history of mental illness.
There are many ways anxiety is inherited. For example, some researchers feel that a chemical imbalance causes anxiety and other mental illnesses. It is thought that you can inherit the chemical imbalance from your parents.
In other situations, a parent with an anxiety disorder may cause a stressful environment in the home that causes the child to have high-stress tendencies. Or the child may imitate a parent’s stressful reactions and become stressed out themselves.
And while the answer to the question, is anxiety genetic, is yes, other things can cause anxiety. These include:
- Drugs abuse
- Certain medications
- Certain illnesses
- Exposure to trauma
- A high-stress personality type
How to Find Anxiety Treatment Near Me
If you are dealing with anxiety, it’s essential to get help. Anxiety can greatly reduce the quality of life. Talking to someone will help you achieve the high quality of living you deserve.
There are many options for anxiety treatment, but if you are dealing with a co-occurring substance abuse disorder, a rehab facility will be your best bet. The staff will treat the addiction and its underlying cause to provide long-lasting recovery. Atlanta Recovery Place is your best option for finding the care you need. Atlanta Recovery Place offers a dual diagnosis approach that simultaneously treats addiction and anxiety. We offer a variety of outpatient programs that allow you to go about your everyday life while working on your treatment goals. Our caring staff will be there for you every step of the way.
