PANIC - NATURE OR NURTURE?

[hillamanda]

Hello everyone,
Having suffered from anxiety and panic for 5 years and now being 95% recovered- that last 5% still being a flaming nuisance!, I have done a lot of research into the subject. I am very interested in your opinions as to whether you consider your anxieties to be genetic or a result of upbringing and social circumstances. I, myself, had no concept of panic until my first attack at 27 years old. I used to think people who "suffered with their nerves" were daft and should pull themselves together! How wrong was I! Since suffering myself, I have discovered that my nan was agrophobic for several years, my aunty has panic and anxiety issues, my mom gets a "funny head and panicky feelings" and my other nan suffered a nervous breakdown when she was younger!! After finding that lot out, I wanted to be carted off to the loony bin and be done with it! However, I have made good progress over the last few years and think my panic attacks were down to a predisposition to nervous and anxiety disorders in my genetic make-up. I, do, however, feel a stronger, wiser person for what I have been through. I have no doubt the panic attacks have made me take a long, hard look at myself enabling me to make improvements in my lifestyle. I also feel a better person for it. I would love to hear any views on this subject , so get your thinking caps on!
Lots of love as always and plenty of courage to you all,
Amanda xx

a hill

[alexis]

Hi Amanda, it is hard to say where mine came from.
i think i can rule out my upbinging.I was happy and loved.
The first sign of anything was 21yrs ago I suffered from post natal depression after having my second child and a 3yr old disabled child. I think I was frightened to believe my second one was OK especially as my frst one appeared ok for 4 weeks, anyway that is digressing.......
That all went away then over a year ago it came back, (without the baby thank goodness lol) I know a lot of reasons why now, but only after having professional help.
It is also in my family, my mother has recently admitted she feels hot and sick in many situations, but only later in life, and my dad used to stand outside shops because they were "too warm" which is what I often do.
I never witnessed them having panic attacks like i have had though.
My uncle also had a mental illness.
I am recovering, more so in the last 2 months, but I find it long and hard and struggle to accept it when I get "blips", as my friend says to me be nice to yourself, sometimes I forget to do this.
Hope this has answered your question a bit, take care, love Alexis,xx

[seh1980]

I believe it's a mixture of both. Some people are naturally more prone to anxiety than others but these people may never suffer from anxiety due to their nurture. Just my opinion..:D

"Life is too important to take seriously" Corky Siegal

[stimpy]

As far as I know I'm the only person to suffer with "nerves" in my
family.

I suffered pre-natal - post natal and clinic depression while expecting and after having my first child.
I had my first panic attack 7 years ago while expecting my second child.
Within 6 months I had made a full recovery and didn't suffer any more, until 2 years ago. When they came back with avengance.

I was taking my children to school and a stranger hurled abuse at me while walking to the bus stop. Soon after that experience I became a vegetable. Not eating, not drinking, constantly shaking and screaming for help. I would live on my sofa. Too afraid to go to the toilet, have a bath. I couldn't even face going out in the garden.

I was in recovery until 3 months ago, when the death of my mother caused my panic attacks to return.

So in my case it is nature.
But I was told by my CPN that if a member of your family suffers or if you have suffered yourself and recovered - you are more likely to suffer again yourself.

So it could well be a bit of both nature and nurture.

Love, light and Best wishes
Liz xxx
With hard work and determination and all the things you know.
The world is there for you to take. There's nowhere you can't go.


[:p]Scatty Eccentric & 'Poet Laureate to panic and anxiety'

[florence]

Hi



<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">I am very interested in your opinions as to whether you consider your anxieties to be genetic or a result of upbringing and social circumstances.</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

Definitely both!!

Florence.

**Don't believe everything you think .**

[Karen]

Hi

I believe mine is due to nature, starting with experiences in my childhood.

No one else in my family suffers with these kinds of problems.


Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

[zena]

Bit of both I think.
My Mum suffered with her nerves bless her..she didn't give up work or anything. She helped me alot with my phobia after we both understood what was going on.
My daughter who also uses this site has a few anxiety problems but she is getting to know how to handle her panics.
Now my niece has an anxiety problem also...but we are getting her over that as well.
The only person who wants to change the pattern is the person themselves.
At least mine are in a supportive family unit who know what to do. Not everyone has that.
People have different ways with coping with things.
I was like Liz...my panics came back with a bang after both the deaths of my Mum and Dad...I just knew how to cope after a while.
We all have blips the same as other people.


with good wishes

Zena

[Meg]

There is a recognised genetic element

60% of patients have at least one relative with something similar.

You may have have an increased tendency but it does no longer need to affect you as strongly as the previous generations due to better understanding and treatments.


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...

[sueiamnew]

This is a very interesting topic.
My big sister suffers really badly with it, in fact she has suffered for years and im ashamed to say that when it first started happening i was one of those people who told her to get out of bed and get on with it.
I used to laugh at her....and kept away. I feel awful about that.
I didn't understand.
She has since told me that she dreaded going out with me because i didn't understand. More fool me.

I have since found out that myAunt didn't leave the house for years, my Mum has had mild panic, my Dad doesnt like supermarkets etc etc and my little Sis had it while pregnant.

Although have to say i didnt relate it all before....

Will be interested to read the answers to this thread..

Take care.

[bluebottle]

Nobody is born with a predisposition to anxiety. We learn to fear by our life experiences. Even if we can't place the cause of our anxiety it is still there somewhere.

--
Blue
"Your truth is better for you than someone else's. Just get to know what it is, so you can finally own it, and speak it."

[hillamanda]

A big thank you to everyone who has replied to my question - very interesting reading. Please keep any views coming!
Hope to hear from you all soon,
Amanda

a hill

[bluebottle]

"There is a recognised genetic element

60% of patients have at least one relative with something similar."

This doesn't point to genes. If your brought up in an environment where there is something that will imprint upon your memory a particular type of behaviour then you have a good chance of repeating that behaviour as an adult because it was a fact of your childhood. Mental illness (anxiety/depression etc) has no genetic element. It is not a physical illness, the brain is not damaged or different compared to a person who has no mental illness. Even the chemical element that SSRI's are supposed to rectify has no basis in fact.

These mental disorders are not something you can't stop and recover from. Nobody is cursed by their genes. With the right treatment and with the will to get better, anyone can, and genetics can't stop you.

--
Blue
"Your truth is better for you than someone else's. Just get to know what it is, so you can finally own it, and speak it."

[pips]

Hi Amanda,:D

Glad to here you are doing so well.[8D][Yeah!]

I think my panics anxiety etc.. are partly due to being so very over protected as a child. This affecting my confidence now and fear of rejection. Plus a three year very bad realtionship thrown in for good measure didn't help really!

Take care,;)

Love PIP'S XX

[Gareth]

Everything I have read says that experts in the field believe that nature is definitely involved. They have done tests on twins which basically prove that people do have a genetic disposition to anxiety problems.

Having said that I personally believe that nurture is the predominant factor. Anything that happens in childhood that can produce any form of insecurity will also predispose you heavily to anxiety problems in later life.

I bet if we did a survey of people on this board the vast majority would say that they have had some factors in their childhood that they think could be part of their problem.

The other huge, huge factor is lifestyle. When people aren't taught to take care of themselves properly, both in terms of their emotional health and physical health, it is no wonder that they end up pushing themselves into a state of severe anxiety. The brain and body can only take so much. In my case I NEVER thought about my emotional health, and this has led to my GAD.

I believe that emotional health must be taught in schools. That is the only way of curbing the epidemic of anxiety and depression that are hitting the country at this time.



*** I think, therefore I'm anxious ***

[bluebottle]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Everything I have read says that experts in the field believe that nature is definitely involved. They have done tests on twins which basically prove that people do have a genetic disposition to anxiety problems.</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

Wrong, it didn't prove that. Look at what Professor McGuffin said about this "proof".


<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">The interplay between genes and environment is complex. It was found that both depression and threatening life events tend to cluster in families, and so it is possible that a liability to develop depressive illness and propensity to experience unpleasant life events are different manifestations of the same familial diathesis.</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

The drug companies have no idea what causes these problems but by insisting it is genetic they continue to make money from drug sales.

Please don't say you have proof when it doesn't exist. Even the guy who did the tests has said he can't prove anything of the sort. Just that it would appear that these families had a predisposition toward mental illness. Well that means absolutely zero.

--
Blue
"Your truth is better for you than someone else's. Just get to know what it is, so you can finally own it, and speak it."

[hillamanda]

Blimey! You have certainly got me thinking, especially BLUEBOTTLE and GARETH. Firstly, I think Gareth as a valid point when he says we don't look after our emotional wellbeing. In the 12 months running up to my first panic attack, I had a lot of stress and emotional turmoil in my life. I had a great deal of hassel from my ex, my new husband put all sorts of pressures on me and I ended up in the family court over my ex's access to my daughter. I felt like I was being torn from limb to limb and also felt very guilty about my daughter being caught up in all the mess. During all this, I was trying to please everyone but myself and ending up running on empty for a long time. It was when I went on holiday to relax that my first panic attack happened. I also have to agree with a lot of what Bluebottle said - I didn't suffer from panic during the first 27 years of my life and I'm pretty sure my DNA didn't change overnight turning me into a nervous wreck! I've always believed the panic attacks were a learnt behaviour in response to anxiety symptoms - but was never sure whether the symptoms themselves were of a genetic cause. I feel more persuaded now that the anxiety symptoms were indeed a result of my lifestyle and my lack of understanding of the importance of emotional wellbeing. Sometimes you really do have to put number one first. Looking out for myself and standing my ground has been invaluable on the road to recovery.
I'm off now to put my feet up and have a decaf tea,
Lots of love, Amanda X

a hill

[sal]

Hi Amanda

Sorry missed your post earlier. You are so right when you say you need to take time out and put number one first, if you cant cope the next who rely on you cant so you take that time out. You desaerve it and need it.

Love Sal xx


Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.