Once in a while, I get an email from someone who will ask about the origin of their anxiety and panic problems. They may even wonder if they were just "born" with anxiety the same way some people are born with red hair, and there is nothing they can do about it.
Those of you who have read my articles for a while probably know what I'm going to say next…But I'll try to restrain myself, and provide an example to answer this question:
I grew up with a friend who was born with polio. He was never "supposed" to walk, and certainly not run or engage in any other strenuous exercise. He was simply "born' that way and there was nothing he could do about it. Right?
Wrong! This same friend is incredibly active. He jogs, works out, does aerobic training, he even runs marathons! He has REFUSED to be limited by this physical condition. No matter what "cards" he was dealt in life, he has chosen to NOT be a victim.
And if you stop and think just a moment, you probably know someone just like my friend. There are many people out there with incredible stories of overcoming obstacles in their life: birth defects, illness, poverty, abuse, etc. Just name a problem, and there is someone out there who has REFUSED to be limited by it and overcome it.
So, bearing that in mind, do I think that anxiety is something that someone can be "born" with? Frankly, I do not. There is some evidence that the tendency toward anxiety can be inherited, but that does not mean a person will develop an anxiety problem. Not at all.
And besides, all I have to do is think about my friend who was born with polio, and it becomes obvious that whether someone could be "born" with anxiety or not, at the end of the day, it doesn't make one bit of difference.
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