Dealing With the Emotional Self

1. HEREDITARY

There is compelling evidence from studies of identical twins, which reveals that if one twin has an anxiety disorder, the probability of the other having an anxiety disorder is between 31 to 88 percent. By comparison, when fraternal twins(whose genes are no more similar than those of siblings born at different times)are studied, the probability is much lower ranging from 0 to 38 percent.

What exactly is inherited?

Well, studies indicate that individuals do not inherit the anxiety but rather the general personality type. which is volatile, excitable,reactive personality that is more easily set off by any slightly threatening stimulus. Persons who are born with this personality type become more susceptible to developing anxiety disorders and other social phobias.

Does inheriting this personality type mean that an individual will develop an anxiety disorder?

Environment and upbringing plays an integral role in shaping the path of an individual. Someone who through childhood and or adolescent years experienced consistent negativity in any form from significant others such as parents, siblings, extended family, friends, and other stressors, combined with genetics may be at a higher risk. The reverse is also true, persons who experienced consistent positivity from significant others may not develop any anxiety disorders.

2. CHILDHOOD CIRCUMSTANCES?

Researchers have found that panic attack and agoraphobia in adulthood are often preceded by separation anxiety disorder in childhood.

Below is a list of childhood experiences that may cause anxiety in adult hood according to Dr. Edmund J. Bourne:

Your parents may have socialized you into having an overly cautious view of the world
You may have had parents who were overly critical and set excessively high standards
You may have experienced Insecurity and Dependence
Your parents may have suppressed your expression of feelings and self- assertiveness

Depression

Depression is a term that can refer to a wide variety of abnormal variations in an individual’s mood..
Thoughts about:
The self (i.e., self is worthless)
The world/environment (i.e., world is unfair), and
The future (i.e., future is hopeless).

Depression Signs and Symptoms

List of symptoms include:

-Unrelenting sad, anxious or “empty” mood
-Sleeping too little, early morning awakening or sleeping too much
-Reduced appetite and/or weight loss, or increased appetite and weight gain
-Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, including sex
-Edginess and/or irritability
-Unyielding physical symptoms that don’t respond to treatment (headaches, chronic pain or digestive disorders)
-Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
-Fatigue or loss of energy
-Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
-Thoughts of suicide or death

Customary advice is to see your doctor if you experience five or more of these symptoms. Eighty percent of depressed people can be successfully treated and returned fully productive to their jobs. Depression is a chronic, progressive disease with many remissions. Without treatment, it will strike again and again, with a vengeance more powerful each time.

Depression ranks third in the hierarchy of workplace problems.
It is overshadowed only by family crisis and stress. No two employees experience depression in the same way. Symptoms vary in severity and duration in different people. In the workplace, symptoms of depression may include the following.

-Decreased productivity
-Morale problems
-Lack of cooperation
-Safety risks and/or accidents
-Absenteeism
-Assertions about always being tired
-Complaints of unexplained aches and pains
-Alcohol and drug abuse

Many depressed workers suffer unnecessarily because they feel embarrassed, fear of being identified as feeble or do not recognize depression as a treatable illness. Effective protocols for depression include medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both. These treatments usually begin to relieve symptoms in a matter of weeks.