What Causes Anxiety? Here Are The Four Most Common origins of Stress and Panic

Written by getlinksnow on Sunday, August 15th, 2010

What Causes Anxiety?

Have you been wondering what causes anxiety? This is really a subject that is becoming more and more relevant as time goes on.  Anxiety, clinically referred to as Social Anxiety Disorder is reaching near-epidemic levels in our pressure packed world. Maybe you’ve a loved on who is displaying symptoms of anxiety.  Or perhaps it is you who have these very uncomfortable feelings.

Either way, it is essential for all of us to understand the problem before we can seek solutions.

Let’s begin with the basics.  What exactly is Social Anxiety Disorder?

Social Anxiety Disorder is characterized by intense fear in interpersonal situations causing considerable distress and impaired ability to perform in at least some elements of daily life. The diagnosis could be of a particular problem (when only some particular situations are feared) or a generalized disorder. Generalized social anxiety disorder typically involves a persistent, intense, chronic dread of being judged by other people and of becoming embarrassed or humiliated by one’s own actions. These fears could be induced by perceived or actual scrutiny from others.

Putting it in layman’s terms: Social Anxiety Disorder is really a fear of having to interact with other people in a interpersonal situation. Individuals who’ve social anxiety frequently fear that they’re being watched, judged, and evaluated by others. It is frequently mistaken for shyness or low self-esteem. There are lots of various causes of social anxiety, however, the trigger of social anxiety in some people simply cannot be explained.

What causes anxiety example #1:  A common trigger of social anxiety is really a traumatic interpersonal experience. If a person is ‘picked on’ or made fun of during childhood, they’re likely to develop social anxiety. Social Anxiety can even develop during adulthood, as a result of a traumatic interpersonal experience. Some researchers believe that adult onset social anxiety, because of a traumatic social experience, is the easiest social anxiety to treat, because the individual simply needs to regain their self-confidence. This isn’t necessarily so for everybody.

What causes anxiety example #2:  Another typical trigger of social anxiety is a learned response. If a child has parents who’ve social anxiety, there is a good chance that the kid will learn to dread social circumstances as well. As children, we learn everything from the people who are around us the very most. Alternately, some people who have vivacious, outgoing parents create social anxiousness as a result. They have underlying fears that make them feel that they could never live up to the level that their parents have set - so, rather than being outgoing, they withdraw, and develop social anxiety as a result.

What causes anxiety example #3:  Social anxiety can develop due to misleading or inaccurate information. For instance, if a girl is a tomboy as a child, and she is frequently discouraged from playing sports and climbing trees - whilst being urged to play with dolls, she could create social anxiety. She would succumb to social pressure from friends and family members to ‘do what girls do, not what boys do.’ This could turn out to be a large problem as she grows up. Dating could turn out to be a challenge, because she will not feel that she isn’t feminine, or ‘lady like’ enough for any boy to be interested in her - she likes sports after all. The thought process is completely incorrect, but it’s what she learned as a child. She would be faced with the issue over and over as time goes by, and eventually, she would create social anxiety - never feeling like she fits in, and usually feeling like she is being evaluated.

What causes anxiety example #4:  Researchers now also believe that social anxiety can be inherited genetically. Research has demonstrated that identical twins, who share identical genes, encounter comparable social anxiety signs and symptoms, while fraternal twins, who do not share identical genes, do not experience similar social anxiety symptoms. Research in this area is still on-going.

The causes of social anxiety vary from person to person. Frequently, the trigger could be discovered via treatment. Therapists agree that once the fundamental trigger of interpersonal anxiety is discovered, most individuals are able to begin dealing with their interpersonal anxiety in efficient, successful methods.

There are literally hundreds of articles, videos, etc on this website to help all of us maintain our sanity in this difficult world.  Please click here for access: Self Improvement Books

 

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