Analyze the emotions of anxiety, depression and loneliness from an evolutionary perspective, understand how these emotions affect our survival and mental health, 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 the evolutionary perspective may be one that many people have not considered in depth. Have you ever thought that your depression or anxiety was caused by something wrong with your brain? But according to research by psychiatrist Anders Hansen, your brain is actually working very normally!
We are all animals
Human beings often forget that they are essentially animals and have not 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, we have lived in a crisis-ridden environment for most of the time, and half of the population did not even survive to reach adolescence. In such an environment, survival has become the most fundamental need.
Today’s information-based society only accounts for 0.02% of human history, which means that our brains have not ’evolved’ much more than the early hunter-gatherers. Our thinking and behavior patterns are more about coping with the needs of survival and reproduction rather than the pursuit of happiness or wealth appreciation.
Have you ever thought about how emotions such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness actually help us survive better?
Emotion analysis from an evolutionary perspective
🏃♀️ Anxiety: The Siren of Survival
Anxiety is often triggered by potential threats. The amygdala in the brain plays a crucial role in this process. It is our body’s ‘crisis detector.’ In order to ensure survival, the brain is always prepared for possible disasters and would rather send out too many warnings in advance than miss the real danger. When this stress system is activated, we experience a panic attack, which is the body’s physiological response to anxiety.
💧 Depression: Defense Mechanisms and Immune System
Like anxiety, depression is a biological defense mechanism. In ancient times, predation or injuries from conflicts were leading causes of death, and this stress signal can make us feel depressed. The purpose is to prompt us to withdraw and distance ourselves from the group, reducing our exposure to risk and harm. Interestingly, there is a strong connection between depression and the body’s immune system. Signs of depression are often accompanied by the body’s perception of ‘infection risk.’ Modern chronic inflammation, sedentary life, unhealthy eating, smoking and other habits may also lead to abnormal reactions of the body’s immune system.
🕳️ Loneliness: social needs and survival pressure
Humans are social animals, and social interaction and group living improve our chances of survival. The brain rewards social behavior by producing feelings of well-being, while loneliness causes discomfort. This is because the brain is telling us that if you cannot meet your social needs, you will face an existential threat. Therefore, when you feel lonely, your brain automatically increases alertness, thinking that your surroundings may be dangerous.
How to deal with anxiety and depression? Learn wisdom from evolution
Although we cannot go back to the ancient hunter-gatherer life, we can still learn some beneficial lifestyle and coping strategies from evolutionary history to help us reduce the occurrence of emotional illness and improve mental health.
1. Increase exercise: relieve anxiety and depression
Exercise is an effective way to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression. It increases dopamine, serotonin and epinephrine levels in the body, helping us cope with stress and improving immune system function. Therefore, simple exercise 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 change your sedentary lifestyle: Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or get off the car and walk a few more stops after get off work. These are simple and effective ways to help you gradually get rid of sedentary life. living habits.
2. Increase social interaction: reduce loneliness
Human beings establish close connections with others, which can effectively alleviate loneliness and enhance the sense of security of existence. Ancient hunter-gatherers maintained physical and mental health through close social networks, and strong social connections in modern life can also reduce the occurrence of anxiety and depression.
🌟 Action Tips: Spend more time with family and friends and engage in regular social activities. For example, meeting friends for coffee or gathering with family regularly can increase face-to-face interaction and reduce loneliness.
Free Mental Health Test Recommendations
To better understand your mental health, here are some free mental health testing tools for your reference and use:
-Emotional Stability Test (EES) : This test helps assess an individual’s level of emotional stability and understand whether they are prone to anxiety or depression.
-Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21) : The online test can help you understand whether you have symptoms of depression or anxiety and provide relevant advice.
-Self -rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) : Use this test to understand your current level of anxiety and assess whether you need further attention to your mental health.
-Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-SF) : helps assess individual symptoms of depression and is suitable for use among people with depressed mood.
-Hamilton Depression Rating 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 appropriate improvement measures based on the results.
PsycTest official website (www.psyctest.cn) provides a variety of professional mental health tests to help you understand your mental status in a timely manner. Using these tools, you can get detailed assessment results and improve your emotional health with professional guidance.
By understanding the formation and function of emotions from an evolutionary perspective, we can adopt a more natural and scientific way to adjust our mentality and improve our mental health.
Link to this article: https://m.psyctest.cn/article/KAGkKGPX/
If the original article is reprinted, please indicate the author and the source in the form of this link.
