What Are The Causes Anxiety?

One beautiful, summer day, I took my young boys to my parent’s home, to visit and swim in their pool. My five-year-old son, ever so carefully avoided walking around the pool because he was afraid of falling in, even though he was a good swimmer. I went inside while my mom and sister kept an eye on the kids. When I returned, my mother told me how different my son acted when I wasn’t present. “He was much more carefree,” she said.

I thought, what is that supposed to mean? I went back inside and watched from a window. She was right. My son was running around the pool, playing, and having a great time. I was heartbroken for my son. I couldn’t believe I had created so much anxiety in him. I do believe my first son has the temperament to be a more anxious person, but I became aware that day how much my anxiety was affecting him.

As seen in the story about my son, anxiety can be learned. When we express our anxiety around our children, they will pick up on it. Like anything else, our children are watching how we respond to events in our lives.

Other factors can contribute to the development of anxiety. However, like many other mental health issues, the causes of anxiety are not completely understood.

 The Mayo Clinic has developed several risk factors for anxiety:

·         Trauma

·         Stress due to illness

·         Stress build-up

·         Personality

·         Other mental health issues (i.e., depression)

·         Genetics

·         Drugs and alcohol (use, abuse, or withdrawal)[i]

Medical conditions or medication can also foster anxiety. If you think your anxiety may be due to a medical issue or a medication you are taking, discuss your concerns with your doctor.

Another highly regarded cause of anxiety is related to our thought life; the way we think determines how we feel and behave. This theory is the premise of my work with individuals suffering from high levels of anxiety. We will discuss how and why our thought life affects our levels of anxiety in future blogs.

I want to point out one more issue in regards to the causes of anxiety.  A traumatic or even a mildly stressful event can trigger anxiety for one person, but not another. We are all uniquely created by our heavenly Father, and therefore will respond to our environment differently. A triggering event for one person may not be a triggering event for another.

Whatever the cause for your anxiety, there is hope. Take a minute, if you haven’t already, and take the Burns Anxiety Inventory (located under the blog post, BAI). See how much anxiety you are currently experiencing.

I am a firm believer that much of our anxiety is the result of distorted thinking. What we think about a situation creates how we feel about a situation. Therefore, if we are experiencing anxiety, and we are not in real danger, or need to solve a real problem, chances are there are distortions in our thinking. Look over the list of common cognitive distortions in the blog with the same title. See if any on the list fit the way you tend to think when you are experiencing anxiety.

Before we end our time together today, I want to teach you a simple relaxation technique to help you reduce your anxiety. It’s called Deep Breathing, also known as diaphragmatic, or belly breathing. When we are experiencing anxiety, we tend to have rapid, shallow breathing. We want to counteract that type of breathing by learning to breathe slow and deep.

Steps to Effective Deep Breathing (see diagram below):

1.      Put one hand on your belly, and one hand on your chest

2.      Take a slow, deep breathe in through your nose, while at the same time pushing your stomach out. Your hand on your chest should not move.

3.      Hold your breath for three to four seconds

4.      Slowly breathe out through your mouth, while pushing your stomach in, using your hand if needed. Again, your hand on your chest should not move.

That’s it. It is that simple. Breathing deep and slow tells your brain you are not in real danger, and therefore, there is no need to be anxious.

We will talk more about deep breathing, as well as other relaxation techniques in future blogs. For now, practice your deep breathing.

[i] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961