Anxiety's Evolution: Why We Worry and How to Cope

Let's pretend you are a giraffe.

You live on the African savanna grasslands. Your neck is 7 feet (2.1 meters) long. From time to time, you'll see a group of people driving around in safari vehicles, taking pictures of you.

But the difference between you and humans isn't just your neck and their cameras. The biggest difference between you and your giraffe friends, and between you and the people photographing you, may be that almost every decision you make brings a direct benefit to your life.

• When you're hungry, you simply walk over to a tree and start munching on its leaves.
• When a storm sweeps across the plains, you can take shelter under a bush.
• When you discover lions tracking you and your friends, you run away.

In any day, most of your choices as a giraffe (such as what to eat, where to sleep, or when to avoid predators) will have a direct impact on your life. You always focus on the present or the near future. You live in an environment described by scientists as an 'immediate-reward environment',because your actions produce clear, immediate results.'Delay-reward environments',

Now, let's flip the script and pretend you are one of the people on a wildlife safari. Unlike a giraffe, humans live in an 'delay-reward' environment.

The choices you make most days won't necessarily benefit you immediately. If you do well today, it may take several weeks to receive a paycheck. If you save money now, you will have enough for retirement in the future. Many aspects of modern society are designed to postpone rewards to a future time.Our questions are also like this. A giraffe worries about avoiding lions, seeking shelter from storms, etc. - these are immediate concerns. Humans worry about many future problems.

For example, when you're playfully jumping across the tropical savanna in a safari jeep, you might think, 'This wildlife safari is fun! It's great to see park rangers and giraffes. As for work, should I change jobs? Am I doing the work I intended to do? Should I change jobs?'

Unfortunately, living in a delay-reward environment can lead to chronic stress and anxiety in humans. Why? Because your brain is not designed to solve delay-reward problems.

The human brain's

evolution

in a delay-reward environment,

cannot evolve indefinitely.

Modern humans' earliest ancestors, 'Homo sapiens', have a history of about twenty million years. These are the first humans to have brains that are similar to ours. Especially the neocortex, the newest part of the brain and responsible for language and other higher functions, developed about 20 million years ago and is similar to ours today. The hardware you use is the same as that of our ancestors from the Old Stone Age.

Compared with the brain era, modern society is unbelievable. Until recently (about 500 years ago), our society has shifted to mainly an immediate-reward environment. Compared to prehistoric times, the pace of change has increased exponentially. In the past 100 years, we have seen cars, airplanes, television, personal computers, the internet, and Beyoncé – almost all the things that make up your daily life were created in a small time frame.

100 years may pass many things. But from an evolutionary point of view, 100 years is not much. The modern human brain has evolved over millions of years to create an 'immediate-reward' environment, and then it switched to a 'delay-reward' environment in a blink of an eye.

The anxiety's evolution

Our old brains and new environment between them have a great influence on the chronic stress and anxiety we experience today.

Thousands of years ago, when humans lived in 'immediate-reward' environments, stress and anxiety were beneficial emotions that helped us take action in an emergency.

For example:

• A lion appears on the plains > You feel stressed > You run away > Your stress is relieved.
• A storm is approaching in the distance > You worry about finding a shelter > You look for a shelter > Your anxiety is relieved.
• You don't drink water today > You feel stressed and dehydrated > You find water > Your stress is relieved.

This is how your brain has evolved to use worry, anxiety and stress. Anxiety is an emotion that helps in immediate-reward environments. It is built to solve short-term serious problems. There is no chronic stress issue.

Giraffes rarely experience chronic stress. As Duke University professor Mark Leary says, 'A will be startled by a loud noise and fly across the forest, but once the threat disappears, the will immediately calm down and begin to graze. And it seems to not be as troubled as many people.' When you live in an 'immediate-reward' environment, you only need to worry about acute stressors. Once the threat disappears, the anxiety fades.

Today, we face different problems. Do I have enough money to pay my bills next month? Will I be promoted at work or continue my current job? Will I fix my broken relationship? The biggest anxiety source in a 'delay-reward' environment is uncertainty. It is impossible to guarantee that you will find a job after graduating. There is no guarantee that your children will receive university scholarships. You cannot predict when you will find love. Living in a delay-reward environment means you are filled with uncertainty.

So, what can you do? In a delay-reward environment, how can you reduce the stress and anxiety that comes with it?

The first thing you can do is measure something. You are not sure if you can retire, but you can measure how much you save each month. You cannot be sure that you will find a job after graduation, but you can track the frequency of contact with companies. You cannot predict when you will find love, but you can track the number of times you introduce yourself to new friends.

Measuring an action creates a known quantity. When you measure something, you become more certain about the situation. Measuring does not magically solve your problems, but it clarifies the situation, allowing you to overcome the anxieties and uncertainties of a black box, and help you take control of the real situation.

Furthermore, the most important difference between immediate-reward and delay-reward environments is rapid feedback. Animals continuously receive feedback about the things that stress them. The result is that they actually know whether to be stressed or not. Without measurement, you will have no feedback.

If you're looking for simple strategies to track repetitive daily behavior, I suggest using 'mirror strategies' to track repetitive behavior, while using 'Sainsbury strategies' to track long-term behavior.

Shifting anxiety

The second thing you can do is shift your worries from long-term problems to the daily work that can solve them.

Don't worry about living a longer life, but focus on taking a walk every day.

Don't worry about whether your children will get university scholarships, but focus on the time they spend studying today.

• Don't worry about losing weight for your wedding, but cook a healthy dinner tonight.
• Making this strategy work depends on ensuring that your daily work gives you immediate rewards (immediate reward) and works to solve future problems (delay reward).
• These are three examples from my life:

Writing.

When I publish articles, my quality of life improves significantly. Furthermore, if I persevere in writing, my business will grow, I will publish books, and I will earn enough to support my life. By focusing on writing every day (immediate reward), I not only enhance my happiness (immediate reward), but also strive to earn future income (delayed reward).

• Lifting.When I learned to enjoy exercising, my happiness changed greatly. The movements in the gym gave my life joy (immediate reward), and also brought better long-term health (delayed reward).
• Reading. Last year, I made a reading list and started reading 20 pages a day. Now, whenever I read (immediate reward), I feel a sense of accomplishment, which helps me develop into a interesting person (delayed reward).
• We have evolved to be in a 'delay-reward' environment. My hope is that by measuring things that are important to you, and shifting your worries to daily practices that will produce rewards in the long term, you can reduce the chronic stress and anxiety that comes with living in a modern society.20