The 10 Most Common Sources Of Anxiety In The Family
Being with family is usually seen as something pleasant and positive, but in some cases, this experience becomes difficult to manage on a psychological level, for two reasons: the fact that we spend a lot of time with these people, and the way in which that these links have an impact on our emotions due to the importance we give to those people.
In this sense, many of these phenomena linked to the family can generate great anxiety in people or even contribute to suffering anxiety disorders and mental health disorders derived from this discomfort.
This is a summary of the main triggers of anxiety problems when they arise mainly from the family context.
1. Family crisis due to arguments
Crises caused by constant family arguments generate great discomfort in the family nucleus and are one of the most common and common sources of anxiety in all types of families. especially when there is no person capable of playing the role of mediator.
There are many families who argue often to resolve their differences and daily problems; However, when these discussions become frequent and even daily, their members can end up developing anxiety states that affect their mental health.
These anxiety levels will depend on the severity of the discussions that take place within the family and the degree of sensitivity that each family member may have.
Cases of abuse are one of the characteristic features of dysfunctional families and constitute a very negative practice even if physical violence does not occur.
Abuse in the family can be physical, emotional or psychological and can be carried out from parents to children, between spouses, from children to parents or between siblings, in any case it represents a type of interaction. capable of generating short-term anxiety and long-term psychological consequences.
Anxiety is one of the most common disorders in cases of abuse and is suffered by both the victim of abuse (such as, for example, the mother), and the children who witness these experiences.
3. Economic instability
Cases of economic instability are a source of great suffering for those families who have difficulty making ends meet or see how their economy is increasingly precarious.
Many parents can develop anxiety disorders. witnessing how the family’s economic situation is increasingly unstable and children of all ages can also suffer from this.
An unstable or difficult economic or financial situation almost always becomes a permanent worry that many people can experience as a sword hanging by a thread over their heads.
4. Separations
Parental separations and divorces are almost always a traumatic event that both parents and children must get used to over time and overcome in the best way possible.
There are many children who present mental health problems once their parents decide to separate, since They personally experience how little by little their family falls apart and, with it, what they considered a safe environment.
This catastrophic vision that children may have generally does not correspond to the experience of the parents, who sometimes experience the situation as something positive and liberating, which contributes to the discomfort of children being undervalued.
In addition to that, if during the divorce process the parents argue among themselves in front of the children, the latter can also be significantly affected.
5. Competition and jealousy between siblings
Jealousy and competitive relationships between siblings generate a very negative environment in families, especially if parents encourage these types of unhealthy relationships or they establish comparative grievances between children.
Anxiety in these cases can be generated in parents who see how their children have a relationship that is too competitive or in the children themselves when they consider that their parents love their siblings more.
6. Conflicts with the in-laws
The in-laws are the family of our partners, siblings, sons and daughters, that is, the people who become part of our close family once our relatives contract ties with them.
Although many families are able to relate amicably with their in-laws, in other cases there may be some problems, especially with fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, sons-in-law or daughters-in-law.
If in a couple, the woman’s parents do not get along with her son-in-law, it is possible that he could develop anxiety problems, as well as the woman, seeing that her husband does not get along with his parents.
7. Family crises triggered by a severe illness
Crises that arise in the family triggered by a severe illness of a family member can also be sources of very high anxiety for those people who suffer for their loved one.
The illness of any family member affects us all and more so the closer this person is, seriously affecting our mental health especially if it is a long illness that has us suffering for several months or years and in suspense for our health.
The case of having elderly parents is also similar, since children suffer daily when they see that their father or parents are losing their faculties and no longer taking care of themselves.
8. Addictions in a family member
When in a family there is one or several members who present addictive behaviors of any type, their loved ones can suffer combined problems belonging to two of the sources of anxiety that we have seen: the anguish caused by having a family member who has developed a illness, on the one hand, and in some cases, the fact of being victims of abuse, on the other. Especially when we talk about alcoholism, episodes of domestic violence are very common.
9. Lack of communication with children
The lack of communication with children is one of the main sources of conflict, arguments and bad atmosphere with parents, especially when they are in the stage of adolescence.
To avoid the appearance of anxiety in both parents and children, it is advisable to develop social skills linked to assertiveness that encourage communication and with which we can overcome any communication blockage by speaking calmly and without getting angry.
10. Traumatic events
Traumatic events that occur by chance such as a traffic accident, a natural disaster, cases of external violence towards a family member or cases of sexual violence can be the source of great discomfort in family members.
Suffering for the life and well-being of a loved one can also generate a high level of anxiety among their family members, which in the most serious cases must be treated by a psychology professional.
