Diathesis-Stress Model and Anxiety

Doctor Daniel Pine introduces the diathesis-stress model for anxiety and depression. The model posits that stress combines with inherited factors to produce disorder.

That is exactly right. What people talk about when they talk about a diathesis-stress model, what they mean is that there are multiple different things that go into getting a problem with emotions. There are some things that are kind of stable – that they are always there. If you are not born with them you develop them very, very early, and there are other things that tend to reflect what is going on in a kid in their environment. So that is what we mean by stress - something happens in the environment that is difficult to cope with. Some people respond by adapting to it and they are fine; other people respond by having a problem. The idea is that you need both the stress – the acute thing happening in your world, but then you also need the diathesis – that part of you that is stable and that puts you at risk.