Psychology for Everyone

What causes anxiety?

From the book – Chapter 8: Anxiety Disorders

Causes and risk factors

Anxiety disorders arise from a combination of factors. No single cause explains all cases.

  • Biological: genetic vulnerability; brain circuit differences (amygdala hyperactivity, prefrontal regulation issues); neurotransmitter imbalances (serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, glutamate).

  • Psychological: temperament (behavioural inhibition, high sensitivity); learned patterns (highly critical or anxious environment); cognitive styles (catastrophising, overestimating danger).

  • Environmental: stressful life events (loss, trauma, abuse, bullying, accidents); chronic stress; substance use (caffeine, stimulants, some drugs can worsen anxiety).

Read the full chapter – Chapter 8: Anxiety Disorders

Stories from real life

  • The Night My Heart Raced – Arjun, twenty-nine, was in a crowded Mumbai local train when his heart suddenly pounded, his hands tingled, his chest tightened and he felt sure he was…
  • What If Tonight Goes Wrong? – Meera is a forty-two-year-old mother in Hyderabad who cannot remember the last day she did not worry. What if her son fails? What if her husband's…
  • The Back Row – Tomás, nineteen, studies engineering in Lisbon. He is clever, but he sits at the back of every class, never asks a question and hurries out. Eating…
  • The Lizard on the Wall – Sunita, thirty-eight, lives in a village near Nashik and cares for her family with great energy, except when a lizard appears. Last month one dropped near…

Shloks

  • Bhagavad Gita 6.34 – The mind is restless, agitating, strong and stubborn. To hold it, I think, is as hard as to hold the wind.

More on this topic: Anxiety, panic attacks and fear – signs, causes and what helps

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