Anxiety is normally a fear, and the root of anxiety can found deep within your fears.   Anxiety can be genetically and/or environmentally induced, and it is something that all human beings have been given as a natural instinct for self preservation; thus, it is your body’s queue to start to go into fight or flight mode.   To clarify, anxiety is designed originally by nature to protect you from events that are frightening to you.  Anxiety is now considered a mental health problem globally, however, rooted in human history the need for anxiety was very much a necessity.

What has happened over time is that instead of being afraid of predators in the forest, we are now afraid, for example, of the foods that we are eating, or if somebody is going to drive through a stop sign, or that we might lose our job because our boss reads an email in our inbox.  We don’t always know what causes anxiety but it is up to the individual with anxious feelings to discover the root of their anxiety.  Discovering the root is critical because anxiety stems from an inherent fear that has grown irrationally over time. 

Anxiety among Senior Citizens can not only affect the individual's overall health, but also the relationships they have with their doctors, caregivers and loved ones. 

Article written by Senior Directory, in conjunction with Pam Goodfriend, Psychotherapist.