Most of us wake up suddenly to the piercing sound of an alarm, turn the coffee pot on, hustle to get the family ready and bring the kids to school only to sit in traffic while driving to work. Unfortunately, these necessary tasks start our day with a micro dose of anxiety. Now add the negative impacts of lack of movement, lack of sleep and minimal nature, punctuated by scrolling social media under artificial lighting, consuming sugary, caffeinated drinks and eating highly ultra processed foods, only to repeat the same pattern of behaviors the next day. Simply stated, we are not living a life aligned with our intended biological design.
We are not our age, we are a few hundred thousand years of evolution, plus our age. Knowing this information, we cannot ignore the significant impact that modern society and technology have on our mental health. By the evolutionary clock, it has been but the blink of an eye since our ancestors evolved into modern beings dealing with the common stressors of the day.
Let’s apply evolutionary psychiatry to anxiety. There are roughly 8.5 billion people on this planet, and all of us have experienced anxiety on occasion. It’s scalable, but we all have felt its power. Anxiety is our body’s way to sound an alarm bell for a perceived threat in the future. Ten thousand years ago, those chemical discharges would alert us to impending danger, possible threats or an attack.
For example, epinephrine is released in response to a threat which impacts the classic symptoms of anxiety. When released, it increases blood flow, heart rate, blood sugar and prepares your body for fight or flight. Our ancestors would literally fight for their very existence or flee as fast and long as they could because their lives and the lives of their loved ones depended on it. That’s why anxiety is often referred to as fight or flight.
But today, there is no woolly mammoth or opposing tribe charging at us; it’s walking into a crowded space, opening mail, driving a car or walking through the door knowing an uncomfortable situation is waiting for us. Nowadays we marinate in those chemicals, which often impacts sleep, causes racing thoughts and lack of focus and increases irritability.
Evolutionary psychiatry just doesn’t apply to anxiety. It can apply to depression, negative thoughts and constant thoughts of worry. Anxiety isn’t all bad though. A small dose of anxiety reminds you to study a little harder, or practice that sport a little longer to prepare for a future game. Evolutionary psychiatry also plays an important and necessary role regarding the health benefits of social interactions and exercising. Remember, we are all wired to constantly scan for threats, whether real or imagined, and it’s our job to apply coping techniques to address our hardwiring.
It’s important to understand evolutionary psychiatry and how it offers profound insight into human behavior by framing our thoughts, emotions and actions through the lens of our ancestral past. By understanding the evolutionary roots of our psychological traits, we can better comprehend the complexities of modern human behavior and how it impacts our mental health. Ultimately, by recognizing the link between our evolutionary heritage and contemporary life it can assist in guiding us to address the challenges we face today.