I think that anxiety is a by product of many things. I think some people are born more anxious than others. I feel I was born more anxious and depressive than others, but my dad was unavailable as well not to mention critical. I watched my daughter be self assured and calm from birth. More like her dad.

But I think environment can play a big part too as well as self-help can do a lot toward healing. I do know that I went through a particularly bad time where I had panic attacks and with a lot of work I was able to overcome them. I used relaxation and breathing techniques which took a while to learn but they worked for me, but for some people it takes more like medications or for some people nothing seems to work.

I think we are all so different that it's hard to tell what caused our anxiety. You may have been predisposed and therefore more susceptible to your mom's influence, but that doesn't mean you can't be helped.

I hope I made some sense. Basically, I don't think there are any easy answers.