Analyze anxiety, depression and loneliness from an evolutionary perspective, understand how these emotions affect our survival and mental health, and improve our mental state through exercise and social interaction, explore coping strategies and free mental health tests.
Discussions of depression and anxiety often focus on psychological, social and physiological aspects, and evolution may be something that many people have not thought deeply about. Have you ever thought you had depression or anxiety because something went wrong with your brain? But according to research by psychiatric expert Anders Hansen, your brain actually works very normally!
We're all animals
Humans often forget that they are essentially animals and have never understood themselves from a biological perspective. According to the theory of evolution, the most basic instinct of living things is survival and reproduction. Looking back at human history, most of the time, we live in a crisis-ridden environment, and even half of the population fails to survive until adolescence. In such an environment, survival has become the most fundamental need.
Today's information-based society accounts for only 0.02% of human history, which means that our brains have not 'evolved' much more than early hunter-gatherers. Our thinking and behavior patterns are more about coping with the needs of survival and reproduction, rather than pursuing happiness or increasing wealth.
Have you ever thought about how emotions such as anxiety, depression, loneliness actually help us survive better?
Emotional analysis from an evolutionary perspective
🏃♀️ Anxiety: Survival alarm
Anxiety is often triggered by potential threats. The amygdala in the brain plays a crucial role in this process, and it is a 'crisis detector' in our bodies. To ensure survival, the brain is always ready for possible disasters and would rather send too many alerts in advance than miss the real danger. And when this stress system is activated, we experience panic attacks, which is also the body's physiological reaction to anxiety.
💧 Melancholy: Defense mechanism and immune system
Similar to anxiety, depression is also a biological defense mechanism. In ancient times, predation or injury from conflict was the main cause of death, and this stress signal can make us feel depressed. The purpose is to drive us back and away from the group and reduce the chance of exposure to risks and harm. Interestingly, there is a close connection between melancholy and the body's immune system. Signals that produce depression often accompany the body's perception of 'infection risk'. Modern chronic inflammation, sitting for a long time, unhealthy eating, smoking and other habits may also lead to abnormal reactions to the body's immune system.
🕳️ Loneliness: Social needs and survival pressure
Humans are sociable animals, and socializing and group life can improve their chances of survival. The brain rewards social behavior by creating a sense of happiness, while loneliness brings discomfort. This is because the brain is telling us: If you cannot meet social needs, you will face an existential threat. Therefore, when you feel lonely, your brain automatically increases alertness and thinks your surroundings can be dangerous.
How to deal with anxiety and depression? Draw wisdom from evolution
Although we cannot return to the ancient hunter-gathering life, we can still draw some useful lifestyles and coping strategies from evolutionary history to help us reduce the occurrence of emotional diseases and improve our mental health.
1. Increase exercise: Relieve anxiety and depression
Exercise is an effective way to relieve anxiety and depression symptoms. It increases dopamine, serotonin and paraadrenaline levels in the body, helping us cope with stress and improving the function of our immune system. Therefore, simple exercises such as running for fifteen minutes or walking for an hour can significantly reduce the chance of depression and help the body better cope with external stress.
🌟The first step to changing your sitting lifestyle : Taking the stairs without taking the elevator, or getting off the bus after work and walking a few more stops are all simple and effective ways to help you gradually get rid of your sitting life habit.
2. Increase social interaction: Reduce loneliness
Humans establish close connections with others can effectively relieve loneliness and enhance the sense of security of survival. Huntergatherers in ancient times maintained their physical and mental health through tight social networks, and strong social connections in modern life can also reduce the occurrence of anxiety and depression.
🌟 Action Suggestions : Spend more time to get together with relatives and friends and conduct regular social activities. For example, ask friends for coffee, or have regular gatherings with family members to increase face-to-face interactions and reduce loneliness.
Free Mental Health Test Recommendations
To better understand your mental health status, here are some free mental health testing tools for your reference and use:
- Emotional Stability Test (EES) : This assessment helps assess an individual’s emotional stability level and understand whether they tend to be anxious or depressed.
- Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21) : Online testing can help you understand whether there are symptoms of depression or anxiety and provide relevant advice.
- Anxiety Self-Assessment Scale (SAS) : Use this test to understand your current level of anxiety and evaluate whether you need to pay further attention to mental health.
- Baker Depression Scale (BDI-SF) : Helps evaluate the symptoms of individual depression and is suitable for people with depression.
- Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) : This scale is mainly used to assess the severity of depression and help you understand whether you need professional psychological support.
Through these online mental health assessments, you can better understand your current emotional state and take corresponding improvement measures based on the results.
PsycTest Quiz official website (www.psychtest.cn) provides a variety of professional mental health tests to help you understand your psychological condition in a timely manner. Using these tools, you can obtain detailed evaluation results and improve your emotional health under professional guidance.
By understanding the formation and role of emotions from an evolutionary perspective, we can adopt a more natural and scientific way to adjust our mindset and improve our mental health level.
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