Genetic roots

[anabelle]

When I was a child I often saw my father in a state that then I could not understand. He would be about my age now and I would see him standing by the open doorway catching his breath, high coloured and sweating. I of course had no comprehension these were panic attacks and I never had a relationship with him or an understanding of what even anxiety might be.

I find myself mid 40's experiencing all of this myself now and I see my father who ultimately died very young going through these events that I wish then I could have supported.

I have been in treatment for many years to address these problems and as time goes on and I find my relationship to myself and the world, despite support a continual challenge. I feel more certain that in future years to come a genetic pre disposition to anxiety and panic will be identified and that drugs that dampen the nervous system response will be replaced by a more accurate addressing of the genetic cause as opposed to medical symptom management.

I hope that young children growing up now might be the first in middle age to benefit from these advances so that they are not be destined to continually repeat their parents fate.

[times71]

I agree with the genetic thing, both my uncle and sister also have panic attacks. I do not think there will ever be a "tablet" that will be 100% effective, because there is no physical symptom. We all know that the panics we suffer is something we put there, and its a personal journey. I would not want a pill that would in essence alter my mind. What I would like to see is a better system, through health, diet , relaxation, excercise and such like. I am still a believer that our panic attacks are a friend, thats showing us we need to change. It may sound crazy, but before my attacks I was over weight, ate crap, smoked like a chimney. I have made great changes in my life, and even though I am still going through the journey I feel so much better and can do things that two years ago I found impossible.

peace

[SLjimbo]

I got to agree too that there could be a strong hereditary link that runs in family. My grandfather had anxiety and panic attacks in his 40s or 50s, although he claims it was hypoglycemia. My sister and my grandmother from the other side of the family are always anxious about their health even though they're perfectly healthy. I'm on the same boat since I have anxiety and at times worry about my health when there's really nothing wrong with me.

[joelhall]

Genetic bases in the vast majority of cases are very difficult to establish. If you buy the theory that the causes are psychological then a genetic link is probably nine existent, and early exposure or learned behaviours/reactions are most likely. Even when it appears to run in families genes are unlikely to explain this. The difference is when the cause is physical - adrenal gland dysfunction, higher expression of genes coding for adrenergic receptors, etc. However there might be weight in epigenetic risk factors in some cases. This would count if course only when environmental causes 'switch on' those genes. But as a direct cause, genes just do not explain patterns properly.

---------- Post added at 15:05 ---------- Previous post was at 14:53 ----------

Should have pointed out also that genes would really only go so far as to affect 'unexplained panic' - attacks of a physical nature with a general absence of anxious behaviours or psychology.