Is Anxiety Hereditary?

The anxiety can be inherited due to genetic factors that influence personality development. Even so, there is no single cause associated with this mental health disorder, since environmental variables also interfere and leave traces on attitudes, emotions and thoughts.

In this sense, the main reasons that trigger anxiety are:

• The genetic predisposition: is associated with the development of high levels of anxiety. If one of the parents has diagnosed anxiety, there is a high probability that the person will have the same clinical picture.
• Brain composition: It can be inherited by several generations within the same family. In these cases, a deregulation occurs in the functioning of an area called “cortex”, responsible for emotional processing. According to various research, it has been proven that hereditary anxiety may be linked to this brain sector.

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

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

However, the environment in which a person is raised also interferes with 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 must appear in life that trigger anxiety responses.

Taking these aspects into account, we can conclude that anxiety can be inherited, but it does not necessarily manifest itself explicitly. In the case of a person with a family with anxious traits, there is a significant chance of inheriting anxiety.

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

• Perform psychological therapy: Psychotherapeutic treatment provides tools to cope in a more enjoyable way with situations that cause anxiety. Beyond the fact that anxiety may be hereditary, psychological therapy works on the fact that the person may 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 medications reduce high levels of anxiety that are generated by a regulation of the central nervous system. The goal there is to increase the participation of a chemical substance called gamma-aminobutyric acid, which slows down synaptic connections in the brain. The intake of this class of medications 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 paper and/or digital document those emotions, thoughts and situations that were experienced at a given moment.
• Maintain a healthy diet: Eating foods that inhibit part of the central nervous system has positive effects in managing anxiety. 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 anxiety-triggering thoughts to be processed through an activity that generates physical and mental well-being.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor 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.

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