The article “Social Anxiety is Highly Heritable but Is Affected by the Environment” posted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health discusses the recently concluded study of “approximately 3000 Norwegian twins to find out more about how mental disorders develop over time” (2016). After studying the siblings for over ten years, the results have recently been released. It was found that while environment does contribute to temporary social anxiety, genetics are linked to the long term effects. While being bullied could cause anxiety, it would likely only last a fixed period of time whereas inheriting an introverted personality and low emotional stability could lead to longer lasting anxiety. The study determined that while there is no set
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Being someone who shows symptoms but has never been diagnosed with social anxiety, I was curious to learn about its links to genetics and environment. The evidence showing the differences between the types of anxiety caused by each factor seems perfectly reasonable to me. I have never experienced being bullied but I can understand the crippling fear it unearths and why it has the potential to lead to social anxiety. Being bullied may be a crucial part of one’s life story, but since it only occurs for a certain time period it is understandable why anxiety eventually dissolves as well. On the contrary, genetics stay with one forever which is why social anxiety linked to personality traits seem to last longer.
As I previously mentioned, I have never experienced traumatic situations, such as bullying, that would cause social anxiety which leads me to believe my symptoms are linked to my genetics. I have always been the quietest of my siblings but as I reached high school, large social settings, being introduced to new people, and even talking to strangers on the telephone began to cause an indescribable amount of discomfort and, for lack of a better word, anxiety. My frustration would often turn into tears because none of my family or friends could grasp why I was unable to “put myself out there” or “just
Being someone who shows symptoms but has never been diagnosed with social anxiety, I was curious to learn about its links to genetics and environment. The evidence showing the differences between the types of anxiety caused by each factor seems perfectly reasonable to me. I have never experienced being bullied but I can understand the crippling fear it unearths and why it has the potential to lead to social anxiety. Being bullied may be a crucial part of one’s life story, but since it only occurs for a certain time period it is understandable why anxiety eventually dissolves as well. On the contrary, genetics stay with one forever which is why social anxiety linked to personality traits seem to last longer.
As I previously mentioned, I have never experienced traumatic situations, such as bullying, that would cause social anxiety which leads me to believe my symptoms are linked to my genetics. I have always been the quietest of my siblings but as I reached high school, large social settings, being introduced to new people, and even talking to strangers on the telephone began to cause an indescribable amount of discomfort and, for lack of a better word, anxiety. My frustration would often turn into tears because none of my family or friends could grasp why I was unable to “put myself out there” or “just