is anxiety hereditary

[melvin]

can any one tell me if anxiety is an hereditary my mam has it my dad has it my 3brothers have it my sister has it her 3 children have it

[Vixxy]

I believe it is. My dad suffers with depression and hasnt worked for about 20 years and never will. My nan is a hypochondriac, and is forever going into hospital with problems that arent really there. Shes also on anti depressants.
When I was growing up both of my cousins had varying degrees of health anxiety. One was so bad he thought he had cancer and wouldnt go to sleep without telling his mum he loved her in case he didnt wake up again.
Then theres me, I suffer with health anxiety.
Partly I wonder if its an environment thing (ie I grew up with this as the norm), but mainly I think my body just doesnt produce enough seratonin or something.
Just seems to much of a coincidence to me!

[shinderuko]

My Grandma had agoraphobia, my mum has suffered with depression and I have social anxiety.
Maybe it is our environment, but I was never really aware of my grandma or my mums problems until I told them about mine.

[Serafina]

My mum and dad both get anxious, but yet i grew up with them always being this way. Who is to say if i had been adopted at birth whether i would have still inherited these traits?! I was always told that no one knows if depression or anxiety are hereditary but i believe they are. I can trace it back at least three generations.

[Adelle]

Yes,yes,yes.....I have a history of depression in my family and I suffer from bad heath anxiety and only recently found out that my grandma also suffered from it and was on medication most of her adult life. x

[crazyhayz]

My gran has had depression her whole life until recently (shes in her 60s) shes had a total of 3 nervous breakdowns. Her mother suffered anxiety and 2 nervous breakdowns. My mother however has never had a breakdown and handles stress and 'feeling low' very well, shes so strong, however when shes worried about i.e financial problems or work issues, she hypervetilates and reaches to be sick, ends up becoming a little panic attack. My dad suffers from heart palpitations and has done his whole life (stress induced apparently). My brother is absolutley fine but he is only 20. I am in recovery from anxiety after a full course of CBT and the lifesaver Citalopram. My therapist told me that some people do have a susceptibility to anxiwty or mental health issues such as depression etc and tends to run in families. So Yes it does run in familes i believe. x

[anthrokid]

I study psychology and there is a strong link between genetics and psychological disorders like anxiety. It is far more likely for someone to suffer from anxiety if an immediate family member, especially a parent, suffers from anxiety. This isn't to say that every person whose family members suffer from anxiety will develop anxiety, it just means that there is a biological component that increases the likelihood of it developing. For example, my dad suffers from terrible bipolar and social anxiety, whilst I suffer from health anxiety and depression. My sister on the other hand has never suffered from any anxiety or depressive illnesses :) It depends greatly on your life experiences as well. For instance, if you have a few stressful months your chances of developing anxiety are very high, and if a family member suffers from anxiety the chances are a bit higher. Learned behaviours from olbservation of a parent or sibling with anxiety can also contribute. So it's not to say that anxiety is completely genetic, but genetics do contribute.

Hope all that made sense :)

[melvin]

thanks for your replys guys i will keep a open mind