Although there’s much debate over what really causes anxiety/panic disorder, anyone dealing with these issues knows all to well that there’s no question that living with this condition is very painful and often debilitating.
Family Members
One of the clearer memories I have of my childhood is going shopping with my dear grandmother. She smiled through the whole thing being the sweet person that she was. I could sense, even as a child, that she was very nervous and uncomfortable.
The world for her, it seemed was too hectic and that she dealt with it because she had to. I also remembered how pleasant and happy she was when she was in less stressful situations or in a more peaceful environment.
Have you ever considered that one of the causes of anxiety/panic disorder is that is runs in your family? Maybe you’ve noticed that a close or distant relative suffered this condition of hypersensitivity, anxiousness and/or nervousness. You might also have witnessed a relative have a panic attack.
Research Suggests a Link
Lots of research suggest that there’s evidence that anxiety/panic disorder has a strong hereditary link in many cases. Lots of people with this problem can recall a distant or close relative that exhibited anxious, panicky behavior.
Although there’s convincing evidence that in many cases anxiety and panic disorder clearly have a hereditary component present, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have any control over your familial tendencies or ultimately your condition.
Genetic vs Hereditary
Also don’t get confused by thinking that a panic disorder is genetic as opposed to hereditary. Simply put, having a genetic disposition means that the tendency is passed down through the blood.
Hereditary refers more to eye color or hair color traits, the tendency to be nervous, etc. that can be passed down. But more importantly it means that you have greater likelihood than the general population to have these traits passed down to you, but not necessarily that you will.
In cases where some family members exhibit fearful behaviors and others that have been exposed to the same “stuff” don’t, let’s you know that the cause is not that cut and dry.
Looking back, I can see that my reactions to life very early on really did mimic the behaviors that I witnessed and learned from various family members. Now I understand that there was a strong possibility that they also learned how to “live in fear” from those close to them as well.
Learned Behavior
Know that there are many other factors that contribute to the formation of an anxiety/panic disorder and that is why in many cases it is difficult to prescribe one method of treatment that is effective for everyone that suffers from it.
Additionally, anxiety, hypersensitivity and panic are things that are learned reactions and behaviors from those close to us that also exhibit these patterns. Know that you can unlearn anything and replace self-defeating tendencies with empowering ones.
Thinking back, I also vividly remember how nervous and agitated my father would get whenever he had to deal with the daily routines of life that the average person wouldn’t have necessarily found threatening.
He showed me early on in my life, over and over again, through his reactions that the world was a scary and hostile place. It was also important for him to impress people, even those he didn’t know, but not to really trust them.
Thus early on, without realizing it, I was learning from my dad how to be a nervous wreck.
Realizing that your anxious tendencies may be connected to a family disposition is helpful simply for some point of reference to the origins of your disorder, but what’s more important to the healing process is keeping your thoughts and reactions in check about your situation.
Chemical Imbalance and Meds
You may have also heard that this condition is caused by a chemical imbalance. I’m telling you right now, this is just theory and not fact! There’s actually no way to medically test or measure the chemicals in the brain effectively. So determining whether someone has any kind of chemical imbalance is pretty questionable at this point.
But if you deeply think about it, the pharmaceutical companies stand to benefit the most with this model/ myth in tact. Although medications are helpful for many things, taking pills for an anxiety/panic condition could result in dependency and is ultimately a personal choice.
If you want to be prescribed pills, however, make sure your decision is based on a combination of your Dr.s recommendation, research on your part and your gut feelings about it.
Keep in mind again that because there are so many factors that can cause anxiety/panic disorder, and each person is so unique, it’s hard for well meaning Dr.s to prescribe a magic pill that will work for everyone.
New Kinds of Challenges
Although these days we don’t have to face the same kind of challenges that our ancestors faced, we now have to deal with the stress that comes about from living in the “concrete jungle”, as Bob Marley sang about.
Although we might not feel threatened on a daily basis by lions or tigers, we are certainly confronted a new set of life challenges.
With long to-do lists that we try to fit into our already busy schedules we never seem to have enough time to get everything done. We seem to be running around more than ever, and faster than ever but getting less done.
Information Overload
As a society, we are constantly bombarded with so much information that it becomes a challenge to processes and understand. It’s no wonder many people feel anxious and overwhelmed. Our hectic life styles often wear us out mentally, physically and spiritually.
Today millions of people feel nervous, anxious and panicky about keeping up with life in general. And for many others living in our modern world keeps them in a hypersensitive panicky state that also contributes greatly to their panic disorder.
Built-In Mechanism
With that said remember that anxiety is a built- in mechanism that is there to protect you from harm or danger. It isn’t there to hurt you by any means. So being anxious is not abnormal and everyone feels anxious at some time or another.
But it is to what degree and how you react to that anxiety coupled with hereditary factors that will determine whether they will develop a full blown panic disorder.
You’re Not Alone
Even though there still seems to be much debate over what actually causes anxiety and panic disorder we do know that it most likely isn’t one thing. Because there are many factors involved, treatment usually involves a multidimensional approach.
Meaning that someone going through the treatment process will try many different things until they find the right combination of things that fits their situation and their personality.
If you have been diagnosed or strongly feel that you have a panic disorder don’t ever feel for one moment that you are alone in this struggle. You might be surprised to know that millions of people are dealing with this to varying degrees, and many people with the worst cases have come out the other side, free from panic.
Please Do Get Help.
One thing for sure, this condition is no joke and really sucks. If you don’t learn how to deal with it effectively and kick its butt out of your life, it can literally suck the life out of your energy and spirit, and potentially get worst.
So whatever you do don’t isolate yourself and try to deal with this in silence or worst yet, attempt to ignore it. In most cases, it’s not just going to magically disappear.
Talk to your Dr., family, friends or whoever will seriously listen to you and begin to do the things you learn that will successfully get you on the road to proactively getting this demon out of your life.
