"Thoughts can feel real, but they are not always true."

Anxiety can develop in many different ways, and its causes are often a mix of genetic, environmental, and personal factors. Here’s how it can happen:

1. Genetics: Some people are more likely to experience anxiety because of their family history. If anxiety or other mental health issues run in your family, you might be more prone to developing it.
    
2. Stressful Life Events: Major life changes or difficult experiences, like the loss of a loved one, a breakup, moving to a new place, or a traumatic event, can trigger anxiety.
    
3. Chronic Stress: Ongoing stress, whether from work, school, relationships, or health problems, can build up over time, leading to anxiety.
    
4. Childhood Experiences: Growing up in an environment with lots of stress or trauma, such as neglect, abuse, or a lack of emotional support, can make someone more vulnerable to anxiety later in life. Even growing up in a home that seemed "normal" but felt tense.
    
5. Negative Thinking Patterns: People who tend to focus on worst-case scenarios or who have a lot of self-doubt may be more likely to develop anxiety. These patterns of thinking can increase feelings of fear and worry.
    
6. Chemical Imbalances: Imbalances in certain chemicals in the brain, like serotonin and dopamine, can affect mood and contribute to anxiety.
    
7. Personality: Some personality traits, like being a perfectionist, being very sensitive to stress, or having low self-esteem, can make people more prone to anxiety.

I can teach you how to let go of anxious thoughts by reframing them, challenging their accuracy, and checking for evidence. When anxious thoughts become overwhelming and are tied to past trauma, trauma processing techniques can help you heal and regain control.

Panic disorder can develop for several reasons, often involving a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Here’s how it can happen:

1. Genetics: If you have a family history of anxiety or panic disorder, you might be more likely to develop panic disorder yourself. Some people are genetically predisposed to anxiety.
    
2. Trauma or Stressful Life Events: Experiencing a traumatic event, major life changes, or chronic stress can trigger panic disorder. The brain may begin to associate certain situations or places with feelings of fear, leading to panic attacks.
    
3. Panic Attack Triggers: If you experience a panic attack, the fear of having another one can cause you to avoid certain situations or places. This avoidance can make the fear stronger, and over time, lead to a pattern where panic attacks become more frequent.
    
4. Body Sensations and Misinterpretation: Some people may experience physical sensations like a racing heart or shortness of breath, which they mistakenly interpret as a sign of danger (such as a heart attack). This fear of physical symptoms can cause further panic attacks.
    
5. Chronic Stress or Anxiety: Ongoing anxiety or stress can make the body more sensitive to panic attacks. Over time, this heightened state of anxiety can trigger panic episodes.
    
6. Biological Factors: Imbalances in certain chemicals or neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, can contribute to the development of panic disorder.
    

Panic disorder often begins in late adolescence or early adulthood, but it can occur at any age. I can help you Identify the factors that contribute to panic attacks which is an important step in managing and treating it. Therapy and relaxation techniques help break the cycle and reduce the frequency of panic attacks.