Xanax

What causes anxiety disorder? Due to recent technological development, researchers and scientists are now about to learn more about anxiety disorders. A number of underlying causes of anxiety disorder have been identified:

•  Personality

•  Life experiences

•  Brain chemistry

•  Heredity

Personality:

Researchers have noted that individuals with low self-esteem and poor coping skills may be more likely to develop anxiety disorders. In addition, an anxiety disorder which develops in childhood can be a precursor to low self-esteem.

Life experiences:

Researchers are looking more closely at the relationship between anxiety disorders and abuse, violence and poverty, as they believe life experiences may be a contributing factor in an individuals susceptibility to anxiety disorders.

Brain chemistry:

Scientists believe that brain chemistry plays a part in the development of anxiety disorders, due to patient reports of symptom relief after taking medication which alters chemical levels in the brain.

Heredity:

Studies have clearly shown that anxiety disorders do run in families. A comparison between identical and fraternal twins revealed that an identical twin is much more likely to develop an anxiety disorder if their twin sibling has already been diagnosed than a fraternal twin in the same situation.

What causes panic attacks?

Panic attacks can be caused by a long or short term buildup of stress. An attack can occur both immediately after a stressful situation or long after the situation has occurred. Stressors include major life events, such as a death in the family, childbirth or job loss. Long term stress can cause the first attack to occur without an apparent trigger. When unable to connect their attack with a stressful event, a patient’s fear of experiencing additional attacks intensifies.

Panic attacks can also occur as a secondary reaction to underlying illness. For example, an asthmatic patient may experience a panic attack due to an inability to breathe freely. In these cases, treatment of the primary condition (i.e. asthma) will resolve the symptoms of the panic attack.

Education and effective anxiety management strategies can prevent panic attacks from becoming anxiety disorders.