Was I born this way?
Jon Mercer
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.
Once an individual
DECIDES he/she will not be a victim--they no longer are. And neither polio, anxiety or any other problem can stand
in their way.
Jon Mercer