Causes of Anxiety

Similar to depression, it's very often a combination of factors that lead to a person developing an anxiety disorder. Common factors include:

Family history of mental health problems

People with anxiety often find that they have a history of mental health problems in their family. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that a person will develop an anxiety disorder if a close family member has had a mental illness.

Stressful events

• Living arrangements changes.
• Problems at work.
• Employment change.
• Pregnancy & giving birth.
• Emotional trauma following an upsetting event.
• Sexual, physical, verbal, or emotional abuse.
• Relationship problems.
• Family issues.
• Death of a loved one.
• Physical health problems (e.g. overactive thyroid, asthma, diabetes)

Substance abuse

Severe or long-term use of certain substances (alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines, or tranquilizers) can lead to anxiety problems, especially as the effects of the substance wear off. Those with anxiety may find that they begin to use more of the substance to cope as a result of withdrawal, making them feel worse in the long term.

Personality factors

People with certain personality traits are more likely to have anxiety (e.g. those who are: perfectionists, easily flustered, lacking in self-esteem, or want to control everything). Of course, everyone is different and it's frequently a combination of factors that play a part in a person developing anxiety. It is because of this that you can rarely identify the specific root cause of the anxiety.

The most important thing is to identify the signs and symptoms of anxiety and to get help. The sooner you get help, the sooner you will recover.

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