Are You Unknowingly Passing Your Anxiety To Your Kids?

July 7, 2015

Anxiety can transcend into your life in numerous ways. According to a new study, anxious parents are more likely to have anxious children.

The study which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) examined nearly 600 young rhesus monkeys since monkeys, like humans, can be temperamentally anxious and pass their anxiety-related genes on to the next generation.

The findings showed that elevated activity in the brain areas is likely involved in mediating the in-born risk for extreme anxiety and anxious temperament that can be observed in early childhood. An over-active brain circuit involving three brain areas inherited from generation to generation may set the stage for developing anxiety and depressive disorders, said the researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The lead author of the study Ned Kalin said that over-activity of these three brain regions are inherited brain alterations that are directly linked to the later life risk to develop anxiety and depression. The findings are a big step in understanding the neural underpinnings of inherited anxiety and begins to give scientists more selective targets for treatment.

So, if you’re looking to calm your nerves and whiplash that anxiety out of your life, here are some simple ways:

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