Year: 2021
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Anxiety disorders make sense only in the evolutionary context of the origins and functions of normal anxiety. Anxiety is an adaptation that adjusts diverse aspects of individuals in ways that increase fitness in dangerous situations. Subtypes were partially differentiated by different dangers. Anxiety is not fully differentiated from other aversive emotions, especially low mood. Anxiety disorders result when regulation systems fail. Explaining them requires considering five possible reasons for vulnerability. However, much harmful anxiety arises from normal mechanisms. These insights are valuable in the clinic, and they suggest new research initiatives.
Author: Randolph M. Nesse
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3206332783