Where does anxiety come from and why do some people experience crippling anxiety, while others have mild bouts of worry occasionally? This question is common and there are several factors that could play into why a person experiences anxiety.
It’s important to clarify that there are several “types” of anxiety. The most common categorizations are Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, and Phobias. Distinguishing what’s going on for you is important in terms of understanding the potential reasons for experiencing anxiety and how and when this happens. It’s so common to want to answer the age-old question, “nature or nurture?”
Due to the prevalence of anxiety and depression, scientists have taken an interest in understanding what physiological processes are occurring in individuals who experience anxiety, and have looked at how this changes depending on the individual’s experience and genetic makeup.
Research has highlighted that each anxiety disorder, and depression, have both genetic and environmental influences. Genetic factors are complex with anxiety, as an individual may have genes that predispose them to a mood disorder however, they may never experience them unless the dormant gene is triggered due to environmental factors. This is known as “epigenetics”.
What does this mean? Let’s say, for example, that you have the gene for a mood disorder such as anxiety. You grow up in a very calm household, you don’t tinker too much with substances that alter your conscious state, you have a good support network, and your life is reasonably manageable. You might experience anxiety however; the likelihood of the gene expression is far less than an individual who grew up in a more chaotic environment with less stability and more uncertainty. Growing up in an environment that is more difficult to navigate, especially safety-wise, creates a higher vulnerability to activate the gene and thus, experience higher levels of anxiety on a more regular basis.
So, in short, if you have a genetic predisposition to anxiety, you may not necessarily experience consistent, high levels of symptoms such as worry and consistent unease. However, if there is less safety, consistency, stability in your environment, there is a higher likelihood that the worry will be more consistent or obvious, depending on the type of anxiety that you experience. Also, other factors will contribute to your experience such as health issues, or trauma.
Can I have anxiety without a genetic predisposition?
In short, the answer is that you can develop anxiety even without a genetic susceptibility. There are a few reasons that this can occur. A common reason for anxiety is having experienced several unfavourable events without having been taught the tools to manage effectively.
Now, there are schools that have started to implement more mindfulness as part of the daily routine. The same programs are also giving children the language to communicate their moods and emotions more effectively. These programs are cornerstones to teaching children how to articulate what’s happening inside, as well as offer them some coping strategies for learning to regulate more easily. This is crucial in reducing the amount of stress that a child has to manage both at school and at home. Studies also indicate that these tools help to manage social skills and a child’s attention capacity.
A very important consideration around anxiety is considering the behaviour of your parents and what you implicitly felt as a child. Children pick up on a parent’s distress or sadness. If one or both parents consistently has emotional downs, children often will recognize the stress or sadness and have the potential to unknowingly internalize the state of the parent(s). This can happen too with phobias. Sensorimotor therapy is effective in healing trauma and unhealthy attachment patterns. If you’re looking for sensorimotor psychotherapy in Vancouver, Sana Counselling is happy to offer it both in-person and online counselling.
For individuals who feel confused due to a stable upbringing with well-balanced parents, anxiety can be frustrating and unsettling, as its roots are less clear. Anxiety shows up for all sorts of reasons. There is no “hard and fast” rule. Also, the root or initial cause of anxiety sometimes makes less of a difference in terms of receiving help to manage and/or reduce anxious feelings and tendencies.
Environmental and genetic factors weave into one another, like a dance. One factor can have more emphasis than the other, however, regardless of what you’re experiencing, there are ways to manage and thrive. If you have children, teaching them how to articulate their internal experiences and mindfulness gives them the tools they need to step into adulthood with confidence. If you’re experiencing anxiety, there are several types of counselling and psychotherapy that can help you learn tools as an adult to cope, manage, and enjoy your daily experience without a consistent undertone of worry.