I used to think anxiety was mostly shaped by the way someone grew up or the stress they go through, but after learning more about genetics, I realized there is a lot more going on behind the scenes. I read a study that looked at thousands of people and found that anxiety does have a genetic component, meaning some people are simply born with a higher chance of developing it (Levey et al., 2020). The researchers found certain genetic variants that are more common in people who struggle with anxiety disorders. It made me think about families where multiple people have anxiety, and how it is not just “learned behavior.” Sometimes the wiring for those feelings is already built into a person’s biology.
What really got my attention is that the study also talked about how genetics don’t determine everything. Just because someone has a higher genetic risk doesn’t mean they are guaranteed to have anxiety. Environment still plays a huge part. This actually made me feel better, because it shows that people aren’t stuck with whatever traits they inherit. It also explains why two siblings can grow up in the same home and still have totally different experiences with anxiety. Reading this reminded me that mental health isn’t as simple as people think. It’s a mix of genetics, environment, coping skills, and even random chance. Overall, it made me appreciate how complicated the brain is, and how important it is to be patient with ourselves and others. Anxiety is not a weakness. Some people are just wired differently, and that’s okay.
References
Levey, D. F., Gelernter, J., Polimanti, R., Zhou, H., Cheng, Z., Aslan, M., … & Stein, M. B. (2020). Reproducible genetic risk loci for anxiety: results from ∼200,000 participants. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 1031–1040. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.19080845
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