How do you get Anxiety?

While there has been a huge upswing in the number of people being diagnosed with anxiety in the Western world, there is no one pathway to anxiety. Anxiety can be caused by any of the following:

• Genetic disposition, it runs in the family

• It can be triggered by childhood or adult trauma or abuse

• Stress due to an illness

• Stress build-up through lifestyle or work pressures

• a reaction to drugs or coming off an anti-anxiety drug

• personality type, you may have a disposition towards stress and anxiety

• mental health disorders, anxiety often goes hand-in-hand with depression

• research indicates that high levels of stress and cortisol during a pregnancy can result in the child being more prone to anxiety