Anyone here who suspects a genetic aspect to their anxiety?

[The_One]

So I have had anxiety in some way or form ever since I was a kid . I just figured that out. From hair eating to OCD thoughts. It didn’t get bad until after my dad died and then after my first job I had real panic attacks.

My grandpa is a neurotic person. My mom turned into a neurotic person after my dad died. My grandpa needed Valium at some point. My cousin had bad anxiety. He’s managed to not need meds (yet)

Mental health is bad on my dads side. My dads aunt is anxiety ridden too.

I can be very neurotic . I’m on lexapro but i still find myself behaving neurotic sometimes. I can def get depressed and angry about anything.

Anyone else think it can be genetic?

I worked at a doctors office and I noticed a good number of people were on anxiety meds.

I’m just confused as to how in this day and age a lot of people aren’t. Lol. I mean it sucks the world sucks to live in at this point it’s literally burning all around us and idk how people aren’t on some type of meds

 

[joeylittle]

the world sucks to live in at this point it’s literally burning all around us and idk how people aren’t on some type of meds

Well, once you add self-medicating (with alcohol, recreational drugs, herbal remedies, foods, etc.) - it starts to look like a much larger percentage of the population is taking some kind of substance to help them with anxiety.

I also think it can be harder to do the things that take longer to work. For example - if a person is feeling like their anxiety is hurting their ability to go to work, they might not think they have time to spend 20 weeks on practicing a structured mindfulness program. In fact, they might not realistically be able to afford to spend the time doing that. So, they look to things that can work right away.

I'm not judging - working on the thoughts and behaviors that create/strengthen anxiety is a long process, and it's especially hard in a modern world to step off the treadmill that is daily life and survival.

But, I also believe that there's not enough attention being paid to transitioning off of meds. And I say this as a person who expects to be medicated for the rest of her life.

Mental health is bad on my dads side. My dads aunt is anxiety ridden too.

I can be very neurotic . I’m on lexapro but i still find myself behaving neurotic sometimes. I can def get depressed and angry about anything.

Anyone else think it can be genetic?

Genetics can play a part, yes. As does environment, life events, and physical wellness. I do think it's useful to understand anxiety on a spectrum, and to get into the habit of separating which anxieties are rooted in something situational that any reasonable person would have anxiety about - vs something more internal, that you can recognize as not being entirely rooted in reality.

I'm curious - what do you do for managing anxiety in addition to the medication?

 

[arfie]

i go back and forth on whether it is nature, nurture or a combination of the two, but i have nary a doubt there is a strong family connection.

 

[Movingforward10]

I'm not on any meds.

My anxiety stemmed from what happened and how I was brought up. My sister announced on Facebook that she has OCD, I don't know if she self diagnosed or if she has been diagnosed. My other sister has anxiety and depression and has meds. My father is a very anxious person. My mum, well she is her own unique self.
But for me, I don't think it's genetics, I think it's what happened and comes from the decisions my mum makes to treat people. Which is anxiety provoking.

 

[shimmerz]

I think anxiety can be passed down to children. Parents pushing perfectionist behaviours on their children because of their own anxiety. OCD behaviours can be learned. A parent's need for control which turns into abuse for young children who can't defend themselves against it. Coping mechanisms like drinking or drugging. I think anxiety is more likely to be a generational behaviour (sometimes based on trauma) being passed down.

 

[Freddyt]

Not genetic but more likely learned..... All those examples, all those people, you learn from them all when you are young. You learn how you should be. When all those people help add to your anxiety and show it as an example, why should you be different.......

 

[Matthew S]

.

So I agree with that 100%! My Father was very panic ridden and had a mental condition that was causing a lot of paranoia and anxiety. His Mother had the same anxiety, her sister, my fathers aunts, uncles had all had anxiety issues. So I absolutely agree that genetics has a role it plays in this. I had my Psychiatrist also said it is. So rest assured that it at least is capable of adding to the anxiety issue! Hope that helps!

Matthew S

 

[Friday]

I generally find that in questions of Nature v Nurture? The answer is “yes”.

 

[Applecore]

So I have had anxiety in some way or form ever since I was a kid . I just figured that out. From hair eating to OCD thoughts. It didn’t get bad until after my dad died and then after my first job I had real panic attacks.

My grandpa is a neurotic person. My mom turned into a neurotic person after my dad died. My grandpa needed Valium at some point. My cousin had bad anxiety. He’s managed to not need meds (yet)

Mental health is bad on my dads side. My dads aunt is anxiety ridden too.

I can be very neurotic . I’m on lexapro but i still find myself behaving neurotic sometimes. I can def get depressed and angry about anything.

Anyone else think it can be genetic?

I worked at a doctors office and I noticed a good number of people were on anxiety meds.

I’m just confused as to how in this day and age a lot of people aren’t. Lol. I mean it sucks the world sucks to live in at this point it’s literally burning all around us and idk how people aren’t on some type of meds

Mental health issues are contagious. When we grow up in the Adams Family, we inherit them from our parents. Whether it's (1) genes or (2) learning by example, it's hard to say, and the results are pretty much the same. But from experience I would strongly advise not assuming that because mental health issues are in our families, then we are doomed: we are not doomed, and that's because our families are not the only factor at work.

Depression, anxiety and neuroticism can be enormously reduced by our choices. For what it's worth, I have come through that journey so I would be glad to briefly point you to a route that worked for me.

If you live in the US, bear in mind that the country has a drug over-prescription problem that is different to the rest of the world. They cause a chemical response in your body, not always for the better. Let's not assume they are the only solution.

Take the following steps and come back to me in a month, tell me how it's gone. (1) Change your scene. If you live in the city, get out out into nature at least once a week, see the trees and hear the birds; and vice versa, seeking out the thrill of novel human experiences. There will be a chemical response in your body. (2) Count your weekly average sugar, alcohol and recreational drugs use for awareness then cut sugar, alcohol and recreational drugs to zero or a bare minimum. There will be a chemical response in your body. (3) Count your weekly average social media and internet porn use for awareness then abstain from social media and porn or cut it to a bare minimum. There will be a chemical response in your body. (4) Count your weekly exercise and triple it. There will be a chemical response in your body. (5) Join a real-world group of similar interests - whether it's martial arts, cookery class, music making, whatever. There will be a chemical response in your body. (6) If you don't have a job that you are content with, spend time each day working on a plan to get a better one - this may require self-teaching of new skills, or training, or sending out resumes, or contacting people where you would like to work or people who know how to get there. It's exciting to be on a journey with a destination. There will be a chemical response in your body. (7) Get back in touch with family and friends who you like and make them feel good, one way or another. Those you value and love, tell them. It's all about them, not us. There will be a chemical response in your body. (8) Make a few strangers feel good, one way or another. It's all about them, not us. There will be a chemical response in your body. (9) Make some distance between yourself and the people who cause you trouble, including any troubled members of your family. You don't need that fight. It's all about them, not us. There will be a chemical response in your body.

(10). If you have been able to do all these tasks, and you are feeling the chemical response in your body, try for a for a while quitting meds.

 

[Freddyt]

If you live in the US, bear in mind that the country has a drug over-prescription problem that is different to the rest of the world. They cause a chemical response in your body, not always for the better. Let's not assume they are the only solution.

Right. The opioid "crises" wasn't the patients, its the doctors prescribing the drugs. And yet by the news and all the noise made, you would think it was the patients that were the problem.

The "take a pill, fix a problem" method of health and mental health care should end. We all need education to help with the problem.

The biggest problem is what is normal and healthy? In the beginning of therapy I had many discussions on "normal" and what I know is - normal is what you know as normal. In the same way we have health courses in school, we need mental health courses in school. Because when we find those problems when kids are young they don't replicate the problems as adults.

 

[Applecore]

Right. The opioid "crises" wasn't the patients, its the doctors prescribing the drugs. And yet by the news and all the noise made, you would think it was the patients that were the problem.

The "take a pill, fix a problem" method of health and mental health care should end. We all need education to help with the problem.

The biggest problem is what is normal and healthy? In the beginning of therapy I had many discussions on "normal" and what I know is - normal is what you know as normal. In the same way we have health courses in school, we need mental health courses in school. Because when we find those problems when kids are young they don't replicate the problems as adults.

Yes. About using a cow as an alternative to pills

About skills working better than pills

 

[Applecore]

Right. The opioid "crises" wasn't the patients, its the doctors prescribing the drugs. And yet by the news and all the noise made, you would think it was the patients that

The biggest problem is what is normal and healthy? In the beginning of therapy I had many discussions on "normal" and what I know is - normal is what you know as normal.

It's a cold fact that America isn't normal. No other country in the world has legally drugged up its people, legally armed them with guns, and legally abandoned them without housing or health care to roam the streets and create havoc. By world standards, looking at the issue from a world perspective: when depressed or anxious, it is simply not normal to be given pills.

To try out an alternative: put your head in a forest.