[melannie]

Hi all.

Do you know if it's possible to inherit anxiety or depression?

Thanks in advance.

[jerrymichele]

I think that it is. On my mom side of the family there seems to be a lot of anxiety. My daughter has it, and so do I. As far as I know I'm the only who is treated for it.

[Indie'sOK]

I think so too. My pdoc (psychiatrist) said it could be possible that some of my anxiety is inherited because my mom has it.

[_embrace]

Yeah, I agree...I don't think that inheriting it is the ONLY way to get it, but it seems as though it can be a component. Both of my parents have anxiety, and a mental illness is common in my family in general, so I can see how it could be partly genetic.

I think environment is important, too, though. My parents were both anxious individuals, so I probably learned a lot of behaviours from them, along with inheriting their genes.

[theotterone]

Yes yes and yes!

When I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder at 16 (34 now) my mom told me she had issues with panic attacks/anxiety disorder. (She also has battled depression all adult life). I found out later that my dad had a panic attack when she was pregnant with my sister, thinking he was having a heart attack. When my Nana died (almost 7 years ago! Where does time go?) I found out from my dad's sister that Nana had battled anxiety all of her adult life and was agorophobic. My dad is now on a low dosage of anti-depressants, my sister was on them for a time and my mom and I have accepted we will probably be on some form of anti-depressant/anti anxiety for the rest of our lives.

Many mental health issues run in families (in mine, it's like a dog race!). I was recently diagnosed Inattentive ADHD, which also runs in families. For example, I got my diagnosis after my oldest daughter was diagnosed.

The good news is it is treatable! I suffered for MANY MANY years, and though I am calmer now thanks to my ADHD treatment (even lowering my dosage of Paxil even more) I still have panicky moments. This morning is a good example. I got home Friday night, did not go anywhere all weekend, and was a little jumpy this morning when I had to go to work. Medication and behavior therapy/psycotherapy together works the best. There are guided meditations and relaxation tecniques you can learn to help control symptoms.

Good luck!

[Pikku Myy]

Yes. You can have many tendencies that travel trhu the genes. Sometimes they surface... and sometimes they do not. Hugs

[melannie]

Thanks a lot, everyone!

Hugs,
melannie

[VickiesPath]

I've been researching depression and mental illnesses on my own for many years. The reason was I never had good results from the medications that I received (many years ago they were only antidepressants) and more recently they worked better because I finally have the correct diagnosis, which always helps!

Depression is basically supported by deficiencies or disfunctions of the neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain, the primary ones being seratonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, but there may be others. These neurotransmitters enable signals to pass between the nerves in the brain. The distance between two nerves is called a synapse. The chemical neurotransmitter lies in that synapse and enables the electric signal to get from one nerve to the next. If that neurotransmitter is deficient or in some way isn't there in the right timing, the signal gets short circuited. When this happens a zillion times, day after day, it has an accumulative effect and can cause a mental illness.

Picture a fleet of boats, carrying an order of cargo from one supplier to one customer via a river. If all of a sudden the river dries up, the cargo doesn't get to the customer. So, the customer doesn't have the product. Neurotransmitters are the river.

A tendency for certain neurotransmitters to be deficient in some way can be inherited. This can cause any one of several types of mental illness. Just because it can be passed down a family line, doesn't mean it will. It's kind of like diabetes or heart disease or anything like that.

Anxiety is fear. Period. It is based in fear. It also is a series of bodily reactions to this fear. Anxiety often co-occurs with depression. Although it is simple to say "anxiety is fear", pinpointing the origin of the specific fear or fears is not as simple. They are most often deep and complex.

This is some of what I've learned over the years. It's probably as clear as mud. It was to me at first.

[nfgibson]

Originally Posted by melannie

Hi all.

Do you know if it's possible to inherit anxiety or depression?

Thanks in advance.

It is certainly possible to inherit these issues. Bi-polar disorder runs in families as does some anxiety disorders. I also expect that how we are raised has a lot to do with it. If you feel you are dealing with this kind of problem it helps to find someone to talk to sooner rather than later.

[melannie]

Thanks a lot, Vickie, for your enlightening post!

Everything I read here is already helping a lot!

Hugs,
melannie

[theotterone]

Vicki, that is a very good way of putting it.

What made me realize I needed anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medication was that I was gestational diabetic with my first daughter (the second one too) and got a clearer picture of how a body's deficiency can effect us (or is it affect, I can NEVER remember! )

Another way it was explained to me was we have a "switch" in our brain that triggers our "fight or flight" response. For those of us who suffer from anxiety disorder, that switch is faulty. It will switch "on" and flood our bodies with adrenaline, but there is no danger to "fight or flight" from. So our body processes it by panicking.

Hope this helps!

[melannie]

Thanks a lot, theotterone!

Your post was very interesting!

Hugs,
melannie

[theotterone]

I tend to know a lot about my own mental health issues, but some totally baffle me. This one I have dealt with for 18+ years.