The second way you can inadvertently turn your child’s anxiety genes “on” is through your behavior. Let’s suppose your anxiety is more of the social variety (the most common form of anxiety, by the way), which means you experience intense fear of being scrutinized and negatively evaluated by others in social situations. A study out of Johns Hopkins University found that parents who suffer from this form of anxiety tend to have difficulty communicating warmth and affection, are more critical, and generally express more doubt about their children’s abilities than less anxious parents do. They
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