The genetics of Anxiety and Depression

There is a genetic component to anxiety, with heritability ranging from 30 – 50%. This means that if you suffer from anxiety and one of your parents suffers from anxiety, you were dealt a rotten hand in the card game of life. To make matters harsher for you, there is comorbidity between anxiety and depression (Pinel 2018). Lucky you. You were dealt anxiety with a side-helping of depression. The positive part? YOUR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ARE NOT YOUR FAULT. Stop beating yourself up for feeling anxious and depressed. Your challenge is to learn to live your best life IN SPITE OF the hand you were dealt, i.e. your genetics.