Spoiler Alert: Yes, absolutely. But it is helpful to understand why.
Anxiety tends to run in families. It is more common – significantly so – in parents that have anxiety. Part of this is not genetic. Children learn by seeing, and when they see an anxious parent it makes them more anxious. Some of the qualities that parents have (for example, introversion) may also be hereditary, and could theoretically lead to anxiety despite anxiety itself not being passed down.
Yet anxiety can also be genetic. There are many studies that have shown that people can be born more prone to anxiety than others because their parents and family members were also anxious. Twin studies have shown that there is absolutely genetic influence.
That means that if your parents have an anxiety disorder, you may be more likely to get one, regardless of how traumatic or challenging your life is.
So, when anxiety appears to have a hereditary or genetic component, it raises an important question: If this is biological, can therapy still help?
Yes, it can. Very much so. When you understand more about the human brain, it becomes clear why therapy is able to help people with genetic anxiety overcome their issues. At its core, while genetics can increase vulnerability to anxiety, they do not determine outcomes, and the way that anxiety works is directly controllable by the brain.
Genetic Predisposition and Anxiety: What That Really Means
A hereditary tendency toward anxiety does not mean a person is “born anxious.” Mental health does not work that way. Instead, it means they may have inherited certain traits or brain chemistry patterns that increase their sensitivity to stress, uncertainty, or emotional stimuli. This can include:
- Lower thresholds for threat detection or perceived danger
- Heightened physiological reactivity (e.g., faster heart rate, stronger startle reflex)
- Differences in neurotransmitter regulation, particularly serotonin, dopamine, and GABA
- Temperamental traits such as behavioral inhibition or high sensitivity
These inherited factors do not cause anxiety on their own. Environmental experiences, learned behaviors, attachment styles, and life events still play role in whether or not those traits develop into a clinical anxiety disorder.
Why Therapy Still Works – Even With a Genetic Component
Therapy does not alter your DNA. But it does change how your brain responds to thoughts, emotions, and environmental triggers. This is why psychotherapy remains effective even when anxiety has a hereditary basis. Learning coping mechanisms, enhancing stress coping pathways, teaching your mind to focus on positives and create more “good feeling neurotransmitters” and more all have the potential to reduce or even eliminate most anxious feelings. Therapists can help:
- Interrupt Maladaptive Thought Patterns – Individuals with anxiety often interpret neutral or ambiguous situations as threatening. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps identify and challenge these patterns, reducing the emotional intensity of everyday stressors.
- Reinforce Behavioral Flexibility – Avoidance behaviors can reinforce anxiety over time. Therapy introduces gradual exposure and skill-building techniques that reduce avoidance and increase confidence in facing feared situations.
- Improve Emotion Regulation – People with a hereditary predisposition may experience emotional reactivity more intensely. Therapists teach techniques such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, and grounding to help regulate these reactions in real time.
- Modify Learned Family Patterns – Many individuals inherit not just biological predispositions, but also family-based behaviors and beliefs about fear, control, or safety. Therapy can help identify these patterns and replace them with more adaptive responses.
Over time, consistent therapeutic work can result in measurable changes in how the brain processes threat and manages stress – even if the underlying predisposition remains. The better you cope with stress, the more positive feeling connections are made and the more anxiety producing connections are broken and a person can not only live a normal life, but feel like their life is not burdened by anxiety.
Treatable Does Not Mean Cured – But It Does Mean Manageable
We don’t typically say any therapy “cures” a mental health challenge, regardless of whether or not it is hereditary. That is because, once a person has shown they can struggle with anxiety/depression, there is always the risk it can occur again for a variety of reasons.
Yet, we can say that therapy has shown itself to be very effective, both as a standalone treatment and in combination with medication (depending on the severity of symptoms). Therapy is not to eliminate all anxious feelings, but to equip individuals with the insight, tools, and coping strategies needed to live a full and functional life in spite of them, and ultimately reduce their severity, frequency, and control over one’s life.
For many people, therapy creates a turning point: a shift away from reactive, inherited patterns and toward more intentional, skillful ways of navigating stress, fear, and uncertainty.
For those that are struggling with anxiety, let’s talk. Anxiety is my specialty, and I feel confident that, together, we can address your anxiety thoroughly and start you on a path of better mental health. Learn more by contacting me today.