Fight or Run: How the Stone Age Mechanism Kills 21st Century Clerks
In stressful situations, our body
produces too much glucose and natural painkillers. It helped primitive people
survive, but now it only bothers you and me.
The Publishing House has published the
book Hacking Psychology. All psychological theories in one book ”by the famous
psychologist Sandy. Spark publishes an excerpt about stress and anxiety
disorder.
New book cover
While many mental illnesses are poorly
understood by those who do not suffer from them, stress is too familiar to most
people. This term goes back to the Latin word strictus, meaning “taut,” and
until the beginning of the twentieth century meant physical stress as a result
of the application of force to any object. It was only in the 1920-1930s that
stress began to be associated with mental health when psychologists began to
use this term in relation to psychological stress.
Since stress is considered to have a
negative effect, we strive to avoid it at all costs. In fact, stress was
originally supposed to protect us, not harm.
Our ancestors faced with predators and
enemies, a stressful reaction was necessary for survival. It provided an
additional surge of energy so that people could fight enemies or quickly run
away from them. Therefore, such a reaction was called "hit or run" -
this name was proposed by physiologist Walter in 1915. noted that when we find
a threat to survival and / or well-being, our body reacts with a stream of
hormones that prepare us for a fight or flight - in both cases, extra strength
in the arms and legs, i.e. more energy in the muscles, is required. The goal of
the “hit or run” reaction is to distract as much oxygenated blood (for energy)
as possible from the stomach, skin and internal organs and deliver it to the
muscles of the arms and legs. To facilitate this process,
The main hormones that serve this
purpose are adrenaline and cortisol, produced by the adrenal glands. Adrenaline
increases heart rate and blood pressure so that the blood circulates faster
throughout the body and reaches the muscles.
Under the influence of cortisol in the
liver, glycogen is converted to glucose. It provides energy to escape or fight.
Other important chemicals are produced
in the area of the brain called the pituitary gland. These substances are
endorphins, acting as a natural pain reliever that helps us feel less pain and
better concentrate on the need to fight or run. You have probably heard of
cases when people with severe injuries jumped over the fence, fleeing an angry
dog.
The “hit or run” reaction perfectly
helped our ancestors survive the attack of a wild animal, but it is not so
useful today when the threats have become completely different. We rarely
encounter a source of stress for which such a reaction is intended. In
addition, our stress factors are more chronic than those that our ancestors encountered
(probably the lions did not attack them several times a day - if this happened,
the ancestors would have gone to a safer place). The “hit or run” reaction is
unlikely to help you solve problems such as tight deadlines, an angry boss,
screaming children, long lines in a supermarket and many other stressful
factors in the modern world.
As a result, we have a system designed
for occasional use, but we use it almost constantly, and it causes a reaction
that does not correspond to the realities of modern life. That is, we almost
constantly experience a surge of energy, additional glucose circulates in our
blood (but it has nowhere to go, since we do not fight and do not run), and the
blood is redirected from other organs, which causes a number of symptoms that
are too familiar to many of us.
Anxiety
Anxiety is associated with stress, and
people with severe anxiety are often said to have generalized anxiety disorder
(GAD).
A small degree of anxiety is normal
and even desirable: if we do not worry, for example, before exams, or when we
go home in the dark, or what our children eat, we may not take the necessary
steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones. A little excitement allows us to
prepare and take the necessary precautions when faced with unpredictable
events, dangers or risks.
In terms of evolution, anxiety is an
important emotion. She helped our ancestors prepare for difficulties: attack by
predators or lack of food. Thanks to anxiety, our ancestors built shelters and
stockpiled food, and we should be grateful to them for surviving as a species.
Anxiety causes the same reaction in
our body as stress. As anxiety grows, the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary
gland, and it releases various hormones that affect in one way or another every
part of our body. The difference between healthy anxiety and GAD is that people
with GAD always feel anxiety, regardless of whether there is a reason. It’s
hard for them to relax, they are constantly worried about something, and they
worry even more if they don’t have a specific reason for worrying (often
because it has become a habit). GAD affects about 5% of the adult population of
and 3% of adult, with women being at risk slightly more strongly than men. This
condition is most common among people aged 20 to 30 years. The psychological
symptoms of GAD look like this.
A man does not find a place for
himself and feels that he is "on the verge".
He is constantly haunted by a sense of
horror or doom.
Anxiety took possession of him
completely.
He is easily distracted by disturbing
thoughts.
He is unable to work effectively, as
he is constantly worried about something.
He is depressed and considers himself
useless.
Physical symptoms of GAD include
dizziness, fatigue, palpitations, muscle pain, dry mouth, excessive sweating,
lack of air, stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, headache, irregular menstrual
cycles, problems falling asleep and sleeping (insomnia).
Why does generalized anxiety disorder develop?
Sometimes GAD occurs as a result of a
series of stressful events, such as a move, divorce, loss of a loved one, or
reduction; if several similar events happen one after another, a person ceases
to cope with them. Another cause of anxiety is life experience. For example, if
a person (or his friend) had a health threat in the past, he might worry too
much when reading about diseases.
Some people tend to be very worried by
nature. They always expect the worst turn of events and consider that they
should be on the alert in case something bad happens. It seems to them that,
thinking about the worst that can happen, they will somehow protect themselves
from such events, because will be better prepared for them. Or they
superstitiously believe that if they predict the bad, it will not really
happen, but if they weaken the vigilance, they will “allow” the terrible
scenario to come true. Therefore, during treatment, psychotherapists try to
change the mindset of these people.
What level of anxiety is considered excessive?
Anxiety is considered excessive or
indicates GAD in any of the following cases.
It is not proportional to the source
of anxiety (a person may worry about the same thing as everyone else, for
example about money, but much stronger than most people).
Anxiety persists even after the cause
of anxiety has disappeared.
It appears for no apparent reason and
in the absence of a situation that could cause it (for example, too violent
reaction to a simple event: a person did not answer SMS immediately, and you
already decided that something terrible happened to him).
Anxiety is almost constant.
It weakens a person, affects normal daily
life and interferes with it.
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