This is a question that really needs to be approached on several levels, with very different practical implications.
We will discuss some of the common causes of anxiety disorder symptom here today.
The fundamental question is what doctors and scientists call "etiological"-the scientific search for the underlying origin of a disease and for the factors that lead an individual to develop or be predisposed to develop that disorder.
In the case of anxiety disorders, unfortunately, the scientific answer to "what causes it?" is still for the most part...
"unknown.
" Different theories attempt to find the cause in specific life experiences, psychological characteristics, dysfunctional brain circuits, and genetic factors.
Current scientific research is concentrating on the biochemistry of the brain and neurotransmitters.
At present, however, it seems probable that different anxiety disorders can have quite different origins.
Panic disorder seems to have a strong genetic component, for instance, while conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and some phobias seem to be caused by external stresses rather than internal physical problems.
On another level the "cause" of any anxiety disorder could be considered the internal mechanism of the disorder.
What is the process by which an underlying problem-whether it's a genetic marker or a particular traumatic life event-gets transformed into the experiential symptoms of a panic attack, a pattern of compulsive behavior, or an inability to function in social situations? For most people suffering from these ailments, their mental anxiety is accompanied by disconcerting and even disabling physical symptoms-racing pulse, dizziness, stomach disorders, hyperventilation, headaches.
This level of causation is actually pretty well understood for many forms of anxiety.
It seems to lie in a faulty activation of the body's natural defensive response to external danger and attack-often called the "fight or flight" response.
When the brain perceives danger, it sends out signals and releases hormones that cause the heart rate to surge, the blood pressure to rise, muscles to tense and breathing to becomes rapid, etc.
In an actual physical emergency, these physical responses are protective.
In anxiety attacks, they are disabling.
Understanding the mechanism, even if we don't understand the deeper origin, has made it possible to develop treatment approaches that work by shutting down or treating specific elements of the acute stress response sequence.
Beta blockers can prevent the elevated heart rate, and anti-anxiety drugs sedate the brain to prevent some of the excessive chemical and hormonal signals.
Breath-control conditioning can help people control their hyperventilation.
SSRI anti-depressants work within the brain to alter the way specific neurotransmitters direct the release of stress reactive hormones.
Yet another "cause" that can often be recognized and treated in anxiety disorders is the "trigger" that for many people will immediately precede an acute episode or a particular behavior pattern.
Sometimes that trigger played a role in the initial development of the disorder, but in any case it has become linked through association to the feelings and symptoms and now has become a second- or third-level cause.
If someone subject to panic attacks happens to experience one while on a plane, for example, in the future being on a plane or just anticipating being on a plane may become a trigger to cause other panic episodes.
A number of therapeutic techniques have been developed which attempt to recondition that associative process-exposure therapy and desensitization, for example.
Similarly, some anxiety is linked to lifestyle triggers like caffeine consumption, alcohol, or stress, which can be changed to help bring the disorder under control.
Even if the root cause of every form of anxiety is someday identified through scientific research, there is no guarantee that those causes would lead to cures.
But understanding the more local causes in our body's responses and in our external environments does offer hope and help to people who suffer from anxiety disorders.
We will discuss some of the common causes of anxiety disorder symptom here today.
The fundamental question is what doctors and scientists call "etiological"-the scientific search for the underlying origin of a disease and for the factors that lead an individual to develop or be predisposed to develop that disorder.
In the case of anxiety disorders, unfortunately, the scientific answer to "what causes it?" is still for the most part...
"unknown.
" Different theories attempt to find the cause in specific life experiences, psychological characteristics, dysfunctional brain circuits, and genetic factors.
Current scientific research is concentrating on the biochemistry of the brain and neurotransmitters.
At present, however, it seems probable that different anxiety disorders can have quite different origins.
Panic disorder seems to have a strong genetic component, for instance, while conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and some phobias seem to be caused by external stresses rather than internal physical problems.
On another level the "cause" of any anxiety disorder could be considered the internal mechanism of the disorder.
What is the process by which an underlying problem-whether it's a genetic marker or a particular traumatic life event-gets transformed into the experiential symptoms of a panic attack, a pattern of compulsive behavior, or an inability to function in social situations? For most people suffering from these ailments, their mental anxiety is accompanied by disconcerting and even disabling physical symptoms-racing pulse, dizziness, stomach disorders, hyperventilation, headaches.
This level of causation is actually pretty well understood for many forms of anxiety.
It seems to lie in a faulty activation of the body's natural defensive response to external danger and attack-often called the "fight or flight" response.
When the brain perceives danger, it sends out signals and releases hormones that cause the heart rate to surge, the blood pressure to rise, muscles to tense and breathing to becomes rapid, etc.
In an actual physical emergency, these physical responses are protective.
In anxiety attacks, they are disabling.
Understanding the mechanism, even if we don't understand the deeper origin, has made it possible to develop treatment approaches that work by shutting down or treating specific elements of the acute stress response sequence.
Beta blockers can prevent the elevated heart rate, and anti-anxiety drugs sedate the brain to prevent some of the excessive chemical and hormonal signals.
Breath-control conditioning can help people control their hyperventilation.
SSRI anti-depressants work within the brain to alter the way specific neurotransmitters direct the release of stress reactive hormones.
Yet another "cause" that can often be recognized and treated in anxiety disorders is the "trigger" that for many people will immediately precede an acute episode or a particular behavior pattern.
Sometimes that trigger played a role in the initial development of the disorder, but in any case it has become linked through association to the feelings and symptoms and now has become a second- or third-level cause.
If someone subject to panic attacks happens to experience one while on a plane, for example, in the future being on a plane or just anticipating being on a plane may become a trigger to cause other panic episodes.
A number of therapeutic techniques have been developed which attempt to recondition that associative process-exposure therapy and desensitization, for example.
Similarly, some anxiety is linked to lifestyle triggers like caffeine consumption, alcohol, or stress, which can be changed to help bring the disorder under control.
Even if the root cause of every form of anxiety is someday identified through scientific research, there is no guarantee that those causes would lead to cures.
But understanding the more local causes in our body's responses and in our external environments does offer hope and help to people who suffer from anxiety disorders.
Source...