Anxiety Treatment

There are numerous possible factors that may cause a person to suffer from anxiety. The factors can be categorized into three groups – external factors, medical factors and genetics.

Most commonly, anxiety is caused by stress or trauma. Being abused or victimized or experiencing the death of a loved one are without doubt situations that are extremely difficult to cope with. Although most people do manage to find a way to deal with the issues usually brought on by such unfortunate circumstances, some people do not and they can eventually become affected by anxiety. Stress is also one of the causes and unfortunately, there is a great number of things which can cause a person to experience such levels of stress that can lead to anxiety. For example, being constantly stressed out at work or school or constantly having financial problems can lead to anxiety as well as various problems that people have in their personal relationships. However, this does not mean that everybody who is stressed out will become excessively anxious. It only means that if a person is experiencing excessive anxiety, it might have been stress that caused the condition.

When it comes to medical factors, scientists most often talk about brain chemistry. People can feel anxious and/or depressed when there is a chemical imbalance caused by abnormal levels of neurotransmitters, chemicals that, among other things, send messages to the brain. Neurotransmitters that have an effect on our feelings and thoughts are dopamine and serotonin and if the levels of these neurotransmitters are not balanced, they will not be able to function properly. Another medical factor that is associated with anxiety is the use of cocaine and amphetamines. Cocaine, if used for a long period of time, can lead to experiencing anxiety and panic even in the cases when a person has not been using the stimulant for years. Some other stimulants such as caffeine and the side effects of some medications are also classified as possible causes of anxiety.

As for genetics, there are certain suggestions that anxiety may be hereditary. In other words, there are suggestions that some people are born with a genetic predisposition which may make them more prone to suffering from anxiety. There are also suggestions that it is not gene or genes which make people more prone to anxiety, but something called learned behavior. This means that if a person has lived with someone affected by anxiety, he or she is likely to be affected by this condition; however, it does not mean that he or she will definitely suffer from anxiety one day. This only means that there is a greater chance for them to be affected by this condition.

Identifying the cause of anxiety can be extremely difficult in some cases, which is why people are always advised to seek professional help if they feel that they might be experiencing some of the most common symptoms.