我們進(jìn)化是為了生存剃斧，也是為了感受痛苦
不健康的世界中痛苦的力量轨香。
關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)
痛苦的情緒是為了在這個(gè)混亂的世界中生存而采取的適應(yīng)措施。
我們的痛苦本身并不是問題幼东，而是提醒我們注意問題臂容。
在我們學(xué)習(xí)緩解心理健康癥狀的策略之前科雳，我們需要傾聽它們發(fā)出的信號。
人們來找我尋求幫助脓杉，以解決他們的抑郁糟秘、焦慮、飲食失調(diào)球散、成癮或其他任何無法充分描述我們?yōu)槭裁磿械酵纯嗟臉?biāo)簽尿赚。這些診斷具有自己的生命力，我們試圖治療“抑郁癥”蕉堰，而不是解決它所發(fā)出的問題凌净。但是，如果我們面臨的抑郁屋讶、焦慮和各種心理健康問題并不是真正的問題呢泻蚊？如果它們是幫助我們發(fā)現(xiàn)或解決真正問題的信號呢？
到 40 歲時(shí)丑婿，我們當(dāng)中有一半的人會被診斷出患有精神疾病性雄，五分之一的人每年都會經(jīng)歷一次活躍發(fā)作。[1]如果我們中有這么多人正在經(jīng)歷這些精神健康問題羹奉，那么很難將所有問題都視為“混亂”秒旋。也許這并不是說我們的身體或思想出了問題，而是我們的身體或思想出了問題：也許這些癥狀是為了在這個(gè)混亂的世界中生存而做出的出色適應(yīng)诀拭。
進(jìn)化心理學(xué)家認(rèn)為迁筛，我們進(jìn)化是為了生存，而不是為了快樂或平靜耕挨。情緒低落细卧、憤怒、羞恥筒占、焦慮贪庙、內(nèi)疚、悲傷——這些都是有助于我們應(yīng)對特定環(huán)境挑戰(zhàn)的反應(yīng)翰苫。當(dāng)我們受到威脅時(shí)止邮，敏感的保護(hù)功能會發(fā)出警報(bào)或短路，這并不是設(shè)計(jì)缺陷奏窑。這是設(shè)計(jì)成功导披。
“進(jìn)化論的核心觀點(diǎn)是，如果我們發(fā)現(xiàn)某些行為我們不喜歡埃唯，或者會給自己或他人帶來痛苦撩匕，我們不應(yīng)該自動(dòng)假設(shè)‘機(jī)器’出了問題∧眩”德比大學(xué)研究進(jìn)化心理學(xué)的保羅·吉爾伯特 (Paul Gilbert) 教授說止毕。?[?2]相反模蜡，他建議我們問：“這些行為在什么樣的社會背景下普遍存在？它們發(fā)揮了什么作用滓技？”
安全總比后悔好
亞利桑那州立大學(xué)進(jìn)化與醫(yī)學(xué)中心創(chuàng)始主任哩牍、精神病學(xué)家 Randolph Nesse 的職業(yè)生涯始于一家焦慮癥診所的主任。他開始問自己令漂，為什么人們在實(shí)際上非常安全的情況下會出現(xiàn)如此多的恐慌癥膝昆？[3]然后他遇到了煙霧探測器理論〉兀“我開始意識到荚孵，即使有危險(xiǎn)的可能性，警報(bào)響起也是必不可少的纬朝。當(dāng)威脅不確定時(shí)收叶，誤報(bào)是值得的，”Nesse 說共苛。安全總比后悔好判没。“我們希望確保在每次火災(zāi)發(fā)生時(shí)都能得到警告隅茎〕畏澹”
這一切都?xì)w結(jié)于傷害的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)。當(dāng)我們環(huán)境中發(fā)生傷害的概率大于焦慮的成本時(shí)辟犀，體驗(yàn)焦慮是有益的俏竞，即使這意味著在雜貨店里發(fā)生不必要的恐慌√镁梗“我終于明白了魂毁，系統(tǒng)被設(shè)定為有許多、許多正常的誤報(bào)出嘹，”內(nèi)斯說席楚。
內(nèi)斯說，這并不像每種情緒反應(yīng)都有特定功能那么簡單疚漆。他說酣胀，這些反應(yīng)具有適應(yīng)我們獨(dú)特環(huán)境挑戰(zhàn)的功能。我們通過改變煙霧報(bào)警器的靈敏度來適應(yīng)我們周圍感知到的威脅娶聘，或者適應(yīng)我們從祖先的環(huán)境中學(xué)到的經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn)。如果外面潛伏著很多危險(xiǎn)甚脉，那么每次離開家時(shí)感到焦慮對你的生存至關(guān)重要丸升，這樣你就可以更加警惕并做好保護(hù)自己的準(zhǔn)備。
活動(dòng)家兼佛教牧師喇嘛羅德·歐文斯（Lama Rod Owens）在《愛與憤怒：通過憤怒獲得解放的道路》[4]中寫道牺氨，焦慮如何幫助他作為一名黑人在美國生存下來狡耻，抵御危險(xiǎn)：
當(dāng) Trayvon Martin 被謀殺時(shí)墩剖，我不再穿黑色連帽衫。當(dāng) Tamir Rice 被謀殺時(shí)夷狰，我想到如何放棄我的雙手岭皂，這樣我就不會被誤認(rèn)為抓著任何東西。當(dāng) Renisha McBride 被謀殺時(shí)沼头，我發(fā)誓再也不敲陌生人的門了爷绘。當(dāng) Sandra Bland 和 Walter Scott 被謀殺時(shí)，我變得高度警惕进倍，遵守每一條該死的駕駛法規(guī)土至。當(dāng) Eric Garner 被窒息而死時(shí)，我意識到我們都被窒息了猾昆。在 Akai Gurley 被殺后陶因，我試圖弄清楚如何發(fā)出聲音，這樣就不會有人對我感到驚訝垂蜗。在 Freddie Gray 被謀殺后楷扬，我想肯定有辦法不再是黑人。在 Charles Kinsey 被槍殺后贴见，我開始質(zhì)疑烘苹，如果警察無論如何都會出現(xiàn)并開槍打死我，我為什么要幫助任何人蝇刀。
焦慮不是軟弱的表現(xiàn)螟加。它是一種適應(yīng)，讓我們更強(qiáng)大吞琐，能夠在危險(xiǎn)的世界中生存捆探。同樣，擺脫焦慮也不是個(gè)人的勝利站粟；這是一種特權(quán)黍图。這意味著你和你的祖先都很幸運(yùn)地生活在安全的環(huán)境中，擁有身體和情感上的安全奴烙。
情緒低落的禮物
當(dāng)我們生活在戰(zhàn)爭的殘酷和心碎中助被、氣候的崩潰、新冠病毒切诀、系統(tǒng)性不平等和種族主義中時(shí)——我還可以繼續(xù)說下去——我們的情緒崩潰也就不足為奇了揩环。但如果情緒低落也是一種有益的適應(yīng)呢？
內(nèi)斯說幅虑，當(dāng)我們所處環(huán)境中的危害風(fēng)險(xiǎn)大于回報(bào)時(shí)丰滑，我們的身體就會進(jìn)入情緒低落的冬眠模式。想象一下你正在釣魚倒庵，并捕到了很多鱒魚褒墨。在這種高效的情況下炫刷，我們天生就應(yīng)該感到快樂，以激勵(lì)我們繼續(xù)前進(jìn)郁妈。但是浑玛，隨著魚的數(shù)量開始減少，我們開始感到不快樂噩咪。內(nèi)斯解釋說顾彰，這是早期跡象，表明回報(bào)不再值得我們冒著被獅子剧腻、老虎和熊吃掉的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)去冒險(xiǎn)拘央。如果我們堅(jiān)持下去，仍然沒有魚书在，那么我們就會開始感到情緒進(jìn)一步下降灰伟，這會向我們發(fā)出信號，讓我們回到安全的洞穴儒旬，狂看 Netflix栏账，等到魚回來。情緒低落不是個(gè)人的失敗或弱點(diǎn)栈源，而是表明我們環(huán)境的回報(bào)大于離開床的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)挡爵。它幫助我們在黑暗時(shí)刻節(jié)省精力。
資料來源：cottonbro studio/Pexels
當(dāng)我們的低落情緒信號隨著冬眠而出現(xiàn)時(shí)甚垦，內(nèi)塞建議我們問問自己：我們是否需要改變環(huán)境茶鹃，或者找到一個(gè)更有回報(bào)或更安全的新環(huán)境，無論是新的地點(diǎn)艰亮、生活方式闭翩、關(guān)系還是工作？或者迄埃，我們可以等到下個(gè)季節(jié)魚兒回來疗韵，比如冬天、生病侄非、受傷或新冠疫情限制浪潮蕉汪？需要發(fā)生什么樣的系統(tǒng)性變化，才能讓更多人生活在回報(bào)大于威脅的環(huán)境中逞怨？我們不應(yīng)該只關(guān)注感覺更好者疤，而需要傾聽低落情緒向我們發(fā)出的信號，并將其作為改變的動(dòng)力叠赦。
羞恥和內(nèi)疚的力量
請參閱我上一篇博客文章宛渐，詳細(xì)討論羞恥和內(nèi)疚的好處。但簡而言之眯搭，內(nèi)疚表明我們的行為（或?qū)λ诵袨榈哪S）?造成了傷害窥翩，并促使我們修復(fù)這種情況。例如鳞仙，承認(rèn)我們的特權(quán)時(shí)產(chǎn)生的健康內(nèi)疚感促使我們修復(fù)我們維護(hù)的制度寇蚊，這些制度以傷害他人為代價(jià)使我們受益。
羞恥感提醒我們棍好，如果我們向特定群體完全展示自己仗岸，我們可能會遭到拒絕，這迫使我們隱藏自己可能遭到拒絕的那部分借笙，或者尋找一個(gè)更安全的社區(qū)扒怖，在那里我們可以做真實(shí)的自己。羞恥感與我們的價(jià)值無關(guān)业稼；它只是表明我們周圍的人正在拒絕我們（或過去曾經(jīng)拒絕過我們）盗痒。問題不在于你；而在于他們低散。
如果你不生氣俯邓，說明你沒有注意
憤怒是對抗不公平、侵犯和需求受阻的必要反應(yīng)熔号。它是我們動(dòng)員行動(dòng)對抗不公正的最有效工具稽鞭。社會變革的最大障礙不是激烈的反對，而是冷漠引镊。
當(dāng)我們的身體和大腦察覺到微妙的暗示朦蕴，表明我們的界限被跨越時(shí)，怨恨警報(bào)就會響亮而清晰地響起弟头，甚至在我們來得及反思情況之前吩抓。怨恨大喊：堅(jiān)持健康的界限，否則就要站出來反對不公正亮瓷！
事實(shí)上琴拧，憤怒和怨恨可能是我們的超能力，它讓我們有能力對他人表達(dá)更多的同情嘱支。同情和同理心的先決條件是健康的界限——定義什么是可以的蚓胸，什么是不可以的，布琳·布朗在《堅(jiān)強(qiáng)崛起》中說道除师。最富有同情心的人是那些擁有最健康界限的人沛膳，布朗繼續(xù)說道，因?yàn)樵购迺屗麄冎肋@些界限何時(shí)消失汛聚。
我們需要怨恨來幫助我們維護(hù)我們的界限锹安，就像我們需要所有其他形式的憤怒來為一個(gè)健康的世界而戰(zhàn)一樣。
這不是你，而是世界
越南佛教僧侶叹哭、和平活動(dòng)家一行禪師曾以蓮花為例忍宋，指出泥土中才能長出最美麗的花朵。我們的情緒警報(bào)风罩，如憤怒糠排、焦慮、情緒低落超升、內(nèi)疚和羞愧入宦，都是幫助我們生存和解決問題的重要信號。
因此室琢，在學(xué)習(xí)緩解心理健康癥狀的策略之前乾闰，我們需要仔細(xì)聆聽它們發(fā)出的信號。我們的痛苦不是問題。它提醒我們注意問題，這個(gè)親愛的朋友告訴我們需要聽到的真相挽封，而不是我們想要的安慰。消除這些警報(bào)并不能讓痛苦消失宽菜，它只會把它變成更響亮的信號，比如我們身體上的疾病或我們頭腦中的心理健康障礙竿报。
馬丁·路德·金博士在 1956 年的演講中提到了“創(chuàng)造性的失調(diào)”铅乡，他贊揚(yáng)了阿拉巴馬州蒙哥馬利市 5 萬名陷入困境的黑人美國人抵制公交車的種族隔離所取得的勝利。
“我們社會制度中有些東西我很自豪能夠適應(yīng)烈菌，我也呼吁你們也適應(yīng)阵幸。”他說芽世，“拯救我們這個(gè)世界的重任就掌握在適應(yīng)不良的人手中挚赊。”
參考
[1]加拿大心理健康協(xié)會济瓢。關(guān)于精神疾病的速覽荠割。2021 年 7 月，https://cmha.ca/brochure/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/
[2]?Gilbert, P.《瘋狂生活》：第二版修訂版旺矾。Annwyn House：英國蔑鹦。2019 年
[3]?Nesse, R. 進(jìn)化精神病學(xué)。2022 年 3 月 31 日箕宙。http：https:?//hstalks.com/t/4946/evolutionary-psychiatry/?? biosci嚎朽。
[4]歐文斯，拉瑪·羅德（2020 年）柬帕。《愛與憤怒：通過憤怒獲得解放的道路》哟忍。北大西洋圖書公司狡门，加利福尼亞州伯克利市。
We've Evolved to Survive, and to Feel Miserable
The power of distress in an unhealthy world.
Updated?January 4, 2024?|??Reviewed by Abigail Fagan
THE BASICS
Take our Generalized Anxiety Disorder Test
Find a therapist to overcome anxiety
KEY POINTS
Painful emotions are adaptions to survive a disordered world.
Our distress is not the problem. It alerts us to problems.
Before we learn strategies to soothe our mental health symptoms, we need to listen to what they’re signalling.
People come to see me for help with their?depression,?anxiety,?eating disorder,?addiction, or any other label that fails to adequately describe why we hurt. These diagnoses take on a life of their own, where we try to treat “the depression” instead of addressing the problem it’s signalling. But what if depression, anxiety, and the mixture of mental health problems we face aren’t the actual problem? What if they are signals to help us see or solve the real problem?
One in two of us will be diagnosed with a mental health condition by the age of 40, with one in five experiencing an active episode each year.[1]?It’s hard to view all our mental health challenges as “disordered” if so many of us are experiencing them. Perhaps it’s not that something’s gone wrong in our bodies or minds, but that something’s gone right: Maybe these symptoms are brilliant adaptions to survive a disordered world.
Evolutionary psychologists teach that we’ve evolved to survive, and not to be happy or calm. Low mood,?anger,?shame, anxiety,?guilt,?grief—these are all helpful responses to help us meet the challenges of our specific environments. Having sensitive protective functions that sound alarms or short-circuit when we’re threatened isn’t a design flaw. It’s a design success.
“The key view in evolutionary theory is that if we find behaviors that we do not like or cause suffering to self or others, we should not automatically assume that something has gone wrong ‘in the machine,’” says Paul Gilbert, a professor at the University of Derby, who researches?evolutionary psychology.[2]?Rather, he suggests we ask, “In what social contexts are these behaviors prevalent? What functions are they serving?”
It's Better to Be Safe Than Sorry
Psychiatrist Randolph Nesse, Founding Director of the Center for Evolution and Medicine at Arizona State University, began his?career?directing an anxiety disorders clinic. He found began asking himself, why are people having so many panic attacks in situations that are actually quite safe?[3]?Then he came across the smoke detector theory. “I started realizing that it’s essential for alarms to go off, even if there’s just a chance of danger. When the threat is uncertain, false alarms are worth it,” Nesse says. It’s better to be safe than sorry. “We want to ensure we get warned about every single fire.”
It all comes down to the economics of harm. When the probability of harm in our environment is greater than the cost of anxiety, it’s helpful to experience anxiety, even if that means having an unnecessary panic attack in the grocery store. “I finally understood that the system is set to have many, many normal false alarms,” says Nesse.
It’s not as simple as each emotional response having a specific function, says Nesse. These responses have functions adapted to meet the challenges of our unique environments, he says. We adapt by changing the sensitivity of our smoke alarms to match the perceived threats around us, or to the lessons learned from the environments of our ancestors. If there’s a lot of danger lurking outside, it’s essential to your survival to have anxiety every time you leave the house, so you can be more hypervigilant and prepared to protect yourself.
Lama Rod Owens, activist and Buddhist Minister, describes how anxiety helps him survive the dangers of living as a Black man in the U.S., writing in?Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger[4]:
When Trayvon Martin was murdered, I stopped wearing black hoodies. When Tamir Rice was murdered, I thought about how to give up my hands so I wouldn’t be mistaken for holding on to anything. When Renisha McBride was murdered, I vowed never to knock on any stranger’s door again. When Sandra Bland and Walter Scott were murdered, I became hypervigilant about following every f*cking driving law. When Eric Garner was choked to death, I realized that we all had been choking. After Akai Gurley was killed, I tried to figure out how to always make noise so no one would ever be surprised by me. After Freddie Gray was murdered, I thought there was surely a way not to be Black any longer. After Charles Kinsey was shot, I began questioning why would I help anyone if the cops would simply show up and shoot me anyway.
Anxiety isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s an adaptation to make us stronger to survive a dangerous world. Similarly, being free from anxiety is not a personal triumph; it’s a privilege. It means both you and your ancestors had the luck of living in secure environments, blessed with both physical and emotional safety.
The Gifts of Low Mood
When we're living in times of the heartbreak and brutality of wars, the collapse of our climate, Covid, systemic inequities and?racism?— I could go on — it's no surprise that our moods crash. But what if low mood, too, is a helpful adaptation?
Our body goes into the hibernation mode of low mood when the risk of harm in our environments outweighs the rewards, says Nesse. Imagine you are fishing and catching plenty of trout. We’re designed to feel happy to motivate us to keep going in this highly productive situation. But then, as the fish start to dwindle, we begin to feel unhappy. This is the early sign that the rewards are no longer worth the risk of all the potential lions and tigers and bears that may eat us if we keep fishing, Nesse explains. If we persist, and still no fish, then we begin to feel a further drop in a mood that signals to us to go back to the safety of our caves, binge-watch Netflix, and wait until the fish come back. Low mood is not a personal failure or weakness, it’s a sign that our environment’s rewards don’t outweigh the risks of leaving our beds. It helps us conserve energy during dark times.
Source: cottonbro studio/Pexels
When our low mood signal arises with the pull of hibernation, Nesse suggests asking ourselves: Do we need to change our environment or find a new one that’s more rewarding or safe, whether a new location, way of living, relationship, or job? Or is this a situation we can wait out until the next season brings back the fish, such as during winter, a bout of illness, injury, or wave of Covid restrictions? What kind of systemic change needs to happen for more of us to live in environments where the rewards outweigh the threats? Rather than focusing on simply feeling better, we need to listen to what low mood is signalling to us and use it as fuel for change.
The Power of Shame and Guilt
See my last?blog post?for a full discussion on the benefits of shame and guilt. But in short, guilt signals that our actions (or silent complicity in the actions of others)?caused harm and pushes us to repair the situation. For example, the healthy guilt that arises when acknowledging our privilege moves us to repair the systems we uphold that are benefitting us at the expense of harming others.
Shame warns us that we may be rejected if we were to fully show ourselves to a specific group of people, pushing us to hide the part of ourselves that may be rejected or find a safer community where we can be our authentic selves. Shame has nothing to do with our worthiness; it simply indicates that the people around us are rejecting (or have been in the past). It’s not you that’s the problem; it’s them.
If You’re Not Angry, You’re Not Paying Attention
Anger is a necessary response to fight inequities, violations, and having our needs blocked. It’s our most effective tool to mobilize action against injustice. The biggest obstacle to social change is not heated opposition, but apathy.
When our body and brain pick up subtle cues that our?boundaries?are being crossed, the resentment alarm shouts out loud and clear before we even have time to reflect on the situation. Resentment yells: ASSERT HEALTHY BOUNDARIES or STAND UP FOR INJUSTICE!
Source: Life Matters/Pexels
In fact, anger and resentment might be our super-power to give us the capacity to extend more compassion towards others. The prerequisite for compassion and empathy is healthy boundaries—defining what’s okay and not okay, says Brené Brown, in?Rising Strong. The most compassionate people out there are the ones who have the healthiest boundaries, Brown continues, because resentment will let them know when those boundaries are missing.
We need resentment to help us maintain our boundaries, just as much as we need all the other flavours of anger to fight for a healthy world.
It’s Not You; It’s the World
Out of the mud grows the most beautiful flower, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches of the lotus. Our emotional alarms, like anger, anxiety, low mood, guilt, and shame, are all important signals to help us survive and solve problems.
So before we learn strategies to soothe our mental health symptoms, we need to listen closely to what they’re signalling. Our distress is not the problem. It alerts us to problems, that dear friend who tells us the truths we need to hear, rather than the reassurances we desire. Silencing these alarms doesn’t make the distress go away, it just transforms it into louder signals, like sickness in our bodies or mental health disorders in our minds.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of “creative maladjustment” in his 1956 speech commending the victory of 50,000 appropriately distressed Black Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, who boycotted the racial segregation of buses.
“There are some things in our social system that I’m proud to be maladjusted to, and I call upon you to be maladjusted too,” he says. “The salvation of our world lies in the hands of the maladjusted.”
References
[1]?Canadian Mental Health Association. Fast Facts about Mental Illness. July, 2021,?https://cmha.ca/brochure/fast-facts-about-mental-illness/
[2]?Gilbert, P. Living Like Crazy: 2nd Revised Ed. Annwyn House: UK. 2019
[3]?Nesse, R. Evolutionary Psychiatry. Mar 31, 2022. http:?https://hstalks.com/t/4946/evolutionary-psychiatry/?biosci.
[4]?Owens, Lama Rod (2020).?Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger.?North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California.
