Anxiety learning week 1
I would like to start this series of blogs on anxiety by
saying that I have suffered anxiety too large degrees, mostly in my 20’s and
recently at 41, when I had become overwhelmed by taking too much on. This
episode was short lived because after my training I had learnt to recognise the
signs of anxiety and took steps to alleviate it and manage my self-care
better.
My 20’s anxiety was a different story, there was an accumulation
of stress through wrong choices, parent bereavement in my teens (Age 14) and an
overriding feeling of lowered coping capacity (basically a belief that I couldn’t
cope with what life threw at me.)
This summary is a simplified expression of a difficult time,
I don’t want you to misunderstand me. There are many causes of anxiety in
adolescence and adulthood. Some causes are from early trauma, from a traumatic
event in adulthood and some are genetic. Today we are going to learn about all
different causes of anxiety, to allow you to consider what different factors
may have contributed to your anxiety or that of your teenager.
Genetic
From what is known at this time, it is suggested that some
people inherit a personality type that influences you to be overly anxious.
This is a reactive, capricious, unsettled personality that is easily triggered
by vaguely hostile stimulus. Compelling evidence of this comes from studies of
anxiety in identical twins. If one identical twin has an anxiety condition, the
probability of the other identical twin developing anxiety ranges from 31 to 88
per cent depending on what study you choose to read.
Research into behaviour and the role genetics play has begun
to investigate the seventeen chromosome, that is a gene in charge of serotonin.
This gene is shorter in length in people that suffer with anxiety, people with
the long form of the gene have to some extent a resilience to anxiety despite
childhood and adult stress. (Bourne, 2005)
Other factors are:
Parents are overly protective and do some anxious
parenting
This is where parents (because they are anxious themselves)
look for and point out most of the negative possibilities in any scenario. Such
as:
‘oh, don’t forget your school bag, if you forget that you
may get a detention’
‘be careful on that swing, if you fall you’ll bash your
face’
‘be very careful when…’
‘are you SURE you’ve remembered everything’
‘make sure you ring me because you could break down and
freeze to death in this weather’
They also ruminate out loud the negative and traumatic
things in current news or relay stories that are sad and negative in nature
with no lesson to teach.
The more they transmit this over careful approach, the more
the child thinks that the world is a place in which to worry. The child grows
up with the notion that the world is a scary place and anxiety is a positive
thing, as it “helps” in detecting these potentially dangerous situations.
Suppression of feelings and self-Assertiveness
This is where parents encourage dependency but also squash
your instinctive expression of feelings and assertiveness. Having your own
opinion and expressing it was not tolerable to your parent, you were punished
or ignored when expressing emotions. Over time children/adolescents who learned
to bottle up their feelings and self-expression, become prone to being anxious
when wanting to express themselves as adults.
Over critical parents, high standards
The main result of being raised by perfectionist parents, is
that the child is always questioning if they are good enough, because of this children
are continually trying to please parents to maintain the attachment and receive
love (this is the drive we are born with). They need to achieve, look good, be
nice and sacrifice their true feelings. The grown-up child as an adult internalises
this becomes critical of themselves and of others. People who experience this
usually have rigid rules for living, e.g. ‘I
should of, I could have, I ought to have’
Emotional insecurity, developmental trauma
This is a truly difficult and distressing childhood, such as
neglect, Physical, sexual and emotional abuse such as in chaotic households
where parents are substance users or the parent has their own unresolved trauma
meaning they are scary and also incredibly scared themselves.
When raised in a family in these circumstances the child can
grow up to avoid feelings and has difficulty building relationships and
trusting others. They have an excessive need to please at the expense of their
own wellbeing and also have an overwhelming need to control. The impact of
these experiences cannot be overstated. People who have experienced these types
of abuse are emotionally triggered by explicit (conscious thought/image
memories) and implicit memories (automatic body memories and sensations) that
trigger the fight or flight response with no knowing consciously what caused
it.
They can have patterns of relationships where the push and
pull are misunderstood by the other person, but essentially a relationship provides
a source of comfort from the other person, but a source of danger as attachment
has proved dangerous in the past.
Bullying
Sometimes bullying and anxiety has been downplayed. Bullying
has a significant impact on emotional well-being. To be isolated, rejected,
excluded with no warning signs and then to be ridiculed and talked about sets
the fight or flight system off. It is unpredictable in nature and eventually
exhausts the victim who presents as depressed, lonely and hypervigilant. Many
young people I see have found the experience of bullying extremely traumatic with
a huge effect on their day to day functioning. They don’t trust their choices
or judgement anymore, they start to believe there is something inherently wrong
with them. The world becomes a place that can inflict upset and distress
through no actions of their own.
Stress/Life events/turning points
This is stress upon stress due to significant life events
that have developed as turning points. Cumulative stress can be caused by unresolved
traumas lasting over years. Or It could be marriage problems, work related
stress etc.
Life events are
experiences that in some cases force us to readjust and reorder are priorities.
When you look at the extensive list attached most of these events involve loss
on some level and interestingly sometimes more responsibility on the individual.
Women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety as men, this may be because
the women are the expected care giver, homemaker, part-time employee, finance
caretaker. Women sometimes simply feel overwhelmed due to the varied busy roles
they are expected to juggle and be good at.
A threatening life changing event
Post-traumatic stress disorder may develop after the
individual is exposed to a traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death
or serious injury. The event may be witnessed more than experienced. Sufferers
may experience flashbacks, panic attacks and hypervigilance.
Biological reasons
B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia – I was diagnosed at 21
and received treatment, my anxiety symptoms lessened somewhat. The lack of this
vitamin is known to contribute towards anxiety and depression.
Hypoglycaemia – problems with blood sugar levels
Hyperthyroidism – Excessive release of thyroid hormone
Mitral valve prolapses – A harmless condition that causes
heart palpitations
Premenstrual syndrome – Anxiety is worse round this time of
the month. It would be worthwhile keeping a diary and if so exercise and taking
B vitamins may help.
So, if you would like to look at the reasons for anxiety a
bit more. Take the time to look at the life events survey and also consider
your anxiety in relation to the family background
Where either parent or family member prone to anxiety?
Did parents encourage exploration or present an attitude of
caution and distrust excessively?
Were your parents demanding of you and over critical in their
analysis of everything?
Did you feel hurt or rejected, ashamed or guilty?
Where you free to express your opinions and feelings could
you cry or be angry?
Did you experience developmental trauma through abuse,
chaotic and inconsistent parenting?
Next time we will look at what keeps anxiety going and what
actually happens in the body and brain when anxiety is experienced.
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