Anxiety Disorder Causes – Myths & Reality
The two main causes of anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorder is not like having a cold. When you happen to start sneezing, you often can tell the causes like having walked around with damp socks or having caught a draft of cold air.
With anxiety disorders, it’s nothing like that. There are no specific causes leading to this pathology; instead, there’s an intricate network of causality and effect that leads to the development of these troubling conditions.
It doesn’t mean that anxiety disorder can be caused by anything or everything, though. According to the latest research, the causes of anxiety disorder are likely to be tracked down to two main causes: biological and environmental.
How your biology can trigger your anxiety disorder
1. (de)Regulation of brain chemistry
Modern research has suggested that brain chemistry imbalances can be one of the leading biological causes of anxiety disorder. Specifically, research has suggested a clear causality in anxiety patients, concerning the regulation of certain neurotransmitters in their brains: most notably serotonin, norepinephrine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
As such, pharmacological treatments for anxiety are sometimes required to help restore the normal levels for these specific neurotransmitters, which are known to play a vital role in the management of mood, emotions and sleep patterns (see the article on anxiety medications for details).
2. Changes in brain activity
With the advent of brain-imaging technologies, researchers have managed to study brain activity levels in people suffering from anxiety disorders. Through this line of investigation, several anomalies in brain activity have been associated to people suffering from this kind of condition, including anomalies in blood flow, metabolism and even structural brain anomalies in certain parts of the brain.
Fortunately, none of these changes are necessarily permanent, and normal brain activity can often be restored with a good anxiety treatment.
3. Genetic factors
It has also been determined through scientific research that genetics does play a role in the development of anxiety disorder. If you have someone in your family who’s had this kind of problem, then your chances of developing similar issues are higher. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that panic disorders have the highest genetic incidence from all anxiety disorders.
If you have a history of anxiety and depression in your family, you should be extra attentive to manifestations of these pathologies. Remember, a healthy lifestyle will help upkeep both your physical and mental health.
4. Medical factors
People who suffer from certain medical conditions can be more likely to develop anxiety compared to healthy individuals. This is especially true if the medical condition affects the brain, heart, lungs or glands.
When this is determined to be one of the causes, treating the underlying condition will usually help reduce the symptoms of anxiety.
How your environment can trigger your anxiety disorder
1. Trauma
Many patients who develop anxiety disorders have experienced some kind of acute trauma earlier in their life. It can be something specific such as watching a person die or something vague such as being raised in a very poor family. Sometimes, the source of trauma can be something the patient isn’t quite aware of, such as feeling intellectually or emotionally marginalized.
If you feel that your anxiety can be caused by past trauma, a good psychologist can help you sort things out. If you can’t afford a psychologist, you should try joining support groups or simply talking with people who have had similar experiences.
2. Abuse
This is another trait which is usually common with many anxiety patients: having been a victim of abuse earlier in life. Whether it’s physical or psychological in nature, prolonged abuse during the developmental stages can be one of the leadings causes of the development of anxiety disorders later in life.
It’s not always simple or obvious realizing that abuse has played a role in the development of your anxious self. Since these memories are often blocked, you will usually benefit from therapy when looking to dig them out
3. Neglect
Growing up as a neglected child can also be a recipe for developing anxiety disorder later in life. Children who don’t feel adjusted or appreciated in their infancy are much more likely to develop this kind of disorder compared to children who clearly feel as though they are supported by caring parents.
Your childhood experiences have a direct impact in your mental health as an adult. That’s granted. But it’s always possible coming to terms with such experiences and moving on. You are not limited by your past, unless you choose being so.
4. Stress
Not all environmental causes of anxiety are attributable to problems during the patient’s development stages, though. In fact, one of the strongest causes is attributed to stress. Whether it’s stress about finances, relationships or career or about experiencing intense inner tension for extended periods of time bares high likeliness of triggering anxiety issues.
You can’t directly control stress, but you can usually control how you react to stress. And you can learn new stress management techniques, which can be immensely useful in helping you remain strong even when subjected to huge emotional pressure.
Understanding the causes of anxiety disorder is part of the journey
As mentioned before, there is not a single cause to anxiety disorder. It’s usually a confluence of factors, encompassing several levels of your being. As you progress in your anxiety management program, you will often experience small epiphanies where you’ll realize that something was adding to your anxious states and you didn’t even realize it.
This is a good thing, and it’s indeed part of the process. As you proceed to understand the causes of anxiety and learn how to deal with them, you’ll shed several layers of your personality and grow as a human being. You’ll get a clearer sense of who you are, and you’ll get a better grasp of what you have to do in order to secure your happiness and well-being.
It’s possible that in a few years you’ll look back and realize that your struggle against anxiety was actually the beginning of a wonderful journey!
