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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tabßitha on October 15, 2002, at 3:19:49
Really, what is it good for, in an evolutionary sense. Is it supposed to motivate us to stockpile food or something? Imagine life without it. Wouldn't we all just be happy and open? Ahhhh.
Can a person just treat all anxious thoughts like mental junk? Learn to ignore it, like it's one of the chorus of useless self-destructive voices. Hmmm.
Posted by BeardedLady on October 15, 2002, at 5:28:19
In reply to Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by Tabßitha on October 15, 2002, at 3:19:49
If you have anxiety regularly and for no reason, you may have an edge on those who don't in true crises. You and I worry about nothing, get panic attacks over silly things (like whether we'll sleep) or over nothing (heart palpatations while standing in line at the grocery store).
But when the old lady plowed head first into the car next to me (almost me!) and kept going, hitting seven cars all the way up the wrong side of a busy street, I was the first one to the phone to call for police and an ambulance.
And I was the first one to the scene when a Jeep overturned with four teens inside. And when I was robbed at gunpoint, I kept calm and collected, memorizing the robbers' faces and planning a course of action.
I'm not saying this is true for everyone, but my psychiatrist and therapist both said this is not unusual. Folks with random anxiety behave more calmly in true emergencies.
So maybe we're called upon for some higher work, which is why we have anxiety!
Nah.
beardy
Posted by IsoM on October 15, 2002, at 6:38:36
In reply to Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by Tabßitha on October 15, 2002, at 3:19:49
I had once thought, as a child, that life as a prey animal in nature would be a horrible way to live - always nervously looking over your shoulder, wondering when you were the next meal. I had decided I would rather be a predator.
But anxiety doesn't work like that for animals. If you ever watch nature shows, you'll see a herd tear off in terror as a lion goes after it but when the lions have selected their target, the other herd animals will slow down, sometimes watch, but return to eating again. Same with small birds when a predator bird like a hawk or eagle targets one & then flies off with it. It's amazing how calmly the rest return to normal activities.
Like Beardy said, anxiety serves a purpose to suddenly enervate one to react quickly with single-minded purpose. Reactions speed up, heart rate, blood pressure, & strength all increase. It enables one to react in a super-human capacity. I had read years ago of an old semi-crippled grandmother in China who fought off & killed a healthy leopard with a large branch that had attacked her & her two grandchildren when they went for a walk one day. It was that "fight or flight" response that gave her the ability.
Trouble is, in modern man, our response has gone 'whacko'. Animals respond quickly to a sudden need then calm down almost as quickly - the stress hormones clearing out of their system in a matter of minutes. But because of the stresses of life for most of us now, we live in a state of perpetual low stress & our system stays aroused. We rarely calm down as we were meant to do. The effects of this long term stress & the hormones it produces causes many of the ills associated with modern man. Our bodies don't get the chance to return to normal low stress levels but stay hyperaroused. Ever read how salmon die enmasse upstream after spawning? Their death is the result of massive levels of stress hormones building up to the point where their body's system break down totally. That's what sustained stress hormones can do when not checked.
That's why exercise is so good for relieving stress & depression. It clears the body of the long term stress hormones - anxiety & stress keys us up to move fast but we 'freeze' instead. Exercise allows our bodies to return to the resting state that a normal physical reaction to real danger would've given. And that's one reason that exercise needs to be sustained for a short while & done regularly to really benefit us. We've built up stress over along period of time & the return to normal doesn't happen overnight.
Posted by oracle on October 15, 2002, at 12:00:25
In reply to Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by Tabßitha on October 15, 2002, at 3:19:49
> Really, what is it good for, in an evolutionary sense. Is it supposed to motivate us to stockpile food or something? Imagine life without it. Wouldn't we all just be happy and open? Ahhhh.
Not really. Look at Ustress and distress.
Ustress (sp? ) pushes us forward.
Posted by oracle on October 15, 2002, at 12:09:26
In reply to Re: Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by oracle on October 15, 2002, at 12:00:25
Posted by WorryGirl on October 16, 2002, at 17:13:46
In reply to Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by Tabßitha on October 15, 2002, at 3:19:49
Anxiety seems to be the fuel that pushes us forward and helps us to accomplish things. It is the complete opposite of depression, which immobilizes us. It's funny how when we are too anxious it is often coupled alternatively with depression, so the scales are tipped one way or the other instead of being balanced.
I believe that without anxiety some of the greatest discoveries and creations would not exist today. That is one reason I'm hesitant to try medication - I'm sort of afraid of becoming a zombie, as some people have said that it makes them feel that way. But I have also heard some say that their creativity is boosted by meds. They must be the ones taking the right med. :)
The challenge is using anxiety it to our benefit.
I'm still trying! lol
Take care
Posted by gabbix2 on October 16, 2002, at 20:01:43
In reply to Re: Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by WorryGirl on October 16, 2002, at 17:13:46
Interesting book on that subject called
A Slender Thread by Diane Ackerman.
All her books are gifts i.m.o
Her ability to make scrupulous scientific research and human experience sensory,poetic leaves me in awe.
Posted by bookgurl99 on October 20, 2002, at 10:38:16
In reply to Does anxiety serve any purpose?, posted by Tabßitha on October 15, 2002, at 3:19:49
I remember reading an article in the Scientific American once about how anxious fish were more likely to survive when placed in a tank with a predator. Could that help?
Posted by bookgurl99 on October 20, 2002, at 10:43:29
In reply to Ever been in a real crisis? » Tabßitha, posted by BeardedLady on October 15, 2002, at 5:28:19
Totally, like, I was hit by a car a couple of years ago, and I wasn't suprised at all. It was like I'd been expecting it my whole life. I was pretty freaked out 'cause I couldn't breathe (when hitting the ground knocked the air out of me), but I think I overcame it faster than most people would.
And then 2 years ago, one of my friends attempted suicide. She had tried several times before, but I was the only one who witnessed this and called 9 - 1 - 1. I had had a 6th sense to call her that day and left work to go to her house when she sounded weird on the phone. (The previous attempts were dangerous, but obviously not fatal. Other 'friends' had visited her and decided 'not to make a big deal.' This attempt could have been, as she had swallowed down a bottle of ativan with some whisky and then started cutting her arms.) Again, pretty calm.
I think a lot of my anxiety comes from my childhood. My mom has been chronically sick with a mysterious autoimmune disorder my whole life. Her throat closes in response to allergic reactions. We went to the emergency room every week.
Oh, and I'm 27.
bookgurl99
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