There is evidence that anxiety can be passed from parent to child through genetics. However, just because a parent has anxiety, does not necessarily mean their child will as well. Environmental and social factors also play a role. Regardless of the cause contributing to the anxiety disorder, therapy and sometimes medication can help manage anxiety symptoms.
What Does It Mean for Something to Be Genetic or Hereditary?
Genes are biochemical codes that control how the body functions and appears.1 When we refer to a trait as being genetic, we are referring to the fact that it exists as a result of these biochemical codes instead of environmental influences. When we talk about a trait being hereditary, we are referring to the fact that it is passed on, through genes, from parent to offspring.
Is Anxiety Hereditary?
Research shows that genetics play a significant role in the development of anxiety disorders—the parents, siblings, and children of an individual who has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder are up to six times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder themselves.1
“Anxiety disorders are a common condition and affect as many as one in five people during their lifetime. Similar to common mental health conditions like depression, Anxiety disorders are thought to be due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors and not either alone. Anxiety symptoms reflect differences in temperament, personality, stress-related coping behaviors, physiological responses (fight or flight response), early life experiences, and others. Due to several factors, anxiety disorders are not directly caused by a single gene or genetic condition. Therefore, no single genetic test can tell if you have anxiety disorders or not.” – Sudhakar Selvaraj, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
What Does the Research Say About Genetics & Anxiety?
Research demonstrates that genetic factors appear to be partly responsible for the hereditary nature of anxiety disorders, although the specific genes or combination of genes have yet to be clearly identified.3,4,5,6 Some believe that genetic factors are also responsible for the fact that most people who experience anxiety tend to experience more than one type.2,7 For instance, someone with panic disorder is 12 times more likely to also experience generalized anxiety disorder, and 11 times more likely to experience agoraphobia.2
In addition to the risk of developing anxiety disorders, children of parents with anxiety disorders are also at risk for developing mood disorders, like depression, bipolar disorder, or seasonal affective disorder.8,9,10 In fact, the risk of developing a depressive disorder is almost three times higher among children of parents who suffer from anxiety or depression.10
Other factors that seem to increase the odds of developing an anxiety and/or mood disorder are:9
- Having a parent who experienced the onset of anxiety or a mood disorder prior to 20 years of age
- Both parents having experienced anxiety and/or mood disorders
Will Everyone in My Family Develop Anxiety?
If you have an anxiety disorder, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone in your family will develop one. Realistically, your first degree relatives (i.e. parents, siblings, and children) are up to six times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder.1
Do Family Members Develop the Same Type of Anxiety?
There appears to be evidence that first-degree relatives are more likely to develop specific types of anxiety disorders. If you experience a panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, your first-degree relatives are four to six times more likely to develop the same disorder.1
Additional links have been identified between parents and children related to specific types of anxiety disorders:14
- Children with social anxiety are 3.7 times more likely to have a mother with social anxiety disorder
- Children with generalized anxiety disorder are 3.5 times more likely to have a mother with generalized anxiety disorder
- Children with social anxiety disorder are almost 3 times more likely to have a father with anxiety disorder
Other Factors That Influence Anxiety
Selvaraj notes, “Individual human life experiences are shaped by many important factors right from our brain development. For example, what happens during pregnancy when the fetus is inside the uterus (womb) is critical. Children born to mothers who are very stressed due to medical or psychological reasons during pregnancy are at increased risk of anxiety or stress-related problems. Also, your home, school, neighborhood, and people around you influence how you deal with stress and the risk of anxiety disorders. Adverse family relationships, bullying, early experience of abuse, severe medical conditions during childhood are significant factors associated with anxiety disorders at a later age. But not all of those who experienced adversities develop later anxiety. Some develop anxiety, and others become resilient and cope well to stress and adverse life experiences, which is not fully known. But this is where the influence of epigenetics is thought to play.”
There are also certain individual, environmental, and socio-demographic factors that appear to influence the risk of developing anxiety:2
- Gender: Women have a higher prevalence of anxiety disorders
- Marital status: Being married is considered a protective factor
- Occupation: Being unemployed is a risk factor
- Education: A lower level of education is a risk factor
- Financial situation: Lower income is a risk factor
- Reacting to change with avoidance, withdrawal, or crying: Emotional lability is a risk factor
- Negative, violent, or stressful life events: Risk factor
- Parental rejection or overprotection: Linked to the development of social phobias
The Relationship Between Anxiety & Stress
Stress and anxiety share overlapping nervous system responses and consequently, the boundaries between the two are still being determined.15 However, while stress reactions have protective and adaptive survival functions, anxiety disorders trigger reactions that end up hindering your ability to adapt and function.
Anxiety might occur in response to a specific type of perceived threat (e.g., being in a social situation or leaving one’s home), or it might be a more general and pervasive fear with no clear trigger (like with generalized anxiety disorder). It has been proposed that genes and stress, either alone or in combination, can increase the likelihood of developing an anxiety disorder.6
How Is Anxiety Treated?
Anxiety disorders are typically treated through therapy and/or medication. Evidence suggests that therapy and medication, either separately or in combination, can provide effective relief. Anyone who believes they are experiencing anxiety should consult with their physician and/or a mental health professional to be properly assessed.
Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been hailed as the most effective therapy for anxiety disorders.16,17 Simply put, it addresses negative thoughts and fears through a process of identification. Then, the therapist works with you to find ways to challenge and replace unhelpful and distressing thoughts and behaviors with more calming and adaptive ones.
Medication
Medication, on its own or in combination with CBT, is another effective treatment for a variety of anxiety disorders.17,18 The decision to use medication should be made by you and your physician or psychiatrist, taking into account individual preferences, potential side effects and interactions, and any other areas of concern.18
Lifestyle
Selvaraj encourages, “One central aspect of our understanding of the gene and environmental interplay is that many anxiety disorders’ risks are modifiable and preventable. For instance, regular exercise can reduce the impact of stress-related fight or flight reactions and modify how our body handles stress. In addition, despite the risks of anxiety disorder, people can reduce the risk of anxiety disorder by learning emotional coping strategies and be resilient during adversities.”
In addition to therapy and medication, here are some lifestyle changes you can make to manage symptoms of anxiety:
- Ask for and accept support from loved ones
- Engage in physical activity
- Practice meditation or prayer
- Self-soothe with:
- Touch—pet an animal, wear comfortable clothes, take a hot shower/bath
- Taste—have a hot drink or eat a favorite food
- Smell—light a scented candle, breathe in fresh air
- Sight—look at a picture of a loved one, notice nature around you
- Sound—listen to music or the sounds of nature, talk to a loved one
- Adjust your self-talk to be respectful and compassionate
What’s the Outlook for People With Anxiety?
For people with anxiety who have access to appropriate treatment, the outlook is hopeful. There is growing evidence that those who are treated with therapy and/or medication will see significant improvements in their symptoms.17,18,19,20,21
Anxiety disorder that saw high measures of success with treatment include:
- Generalized anxiety disorder: Almost 50% of people improve within three weeks of starting treatment, and 77% improve within nine months of beginning treatment19
- Panic disorder: 46% of people saw significant improvement in symptoms at three months, and 63% at 12 months17
Although anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness experienced by Americans, it is estimated that fewer than 40% of people who suffer from anxiety will access professional help.22 Without professional help, those with anxiety, and their families, are likely to experience unnecessary and prolonged suffering.
As far as the future of anxiety treatments, Selvaraj notes, “Current research focuses on ‘epigenetic’ influences, i.e., how your environment and behavior shape how your genes work. New research is trying to identify specific mechanisms that cause anxiety disorders and therefore develop treatments tailored to individual conditions.”
