Survival
of the fittest: Theory of Evolution and Mental Health
Article
by: -
Ms.
Madiha Rana
M.Phil.
(Clinical Psychology), Certificate in Counseling (University of Westminster,
UK)
Certified
CBT Therapist, EMDR practitioner
Clinical
Psychologist
Pakistan
Association for Mental Health, Karachi.
The Darwinian theory of evolution has
become a centerpiece of biology and psychology, and in the past few decades
many psychologists have recognized the value of evolutionary perspective to
guide about coping mechanisms. The three main pillars of “Theory of Evolution”
are: Eat, Survive and Reproduce. Theory of Evolution was first introduced by
Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell in the book “Origin of Species” in 1851. All organisms on our planet originated from
primordial soup around 3.8 billion years ago and have been constantly adapting
to the environment for their survival. As the theory educates the notion of the
“Survival of the Fittest” which means that it’s not important that the
strongest of the species will survive instead the ones who are flexible and
adjustable can sustain. In the present
times we can derive a lesson from the philosophy of evolution that we need
motivation and consciousness to deal with environmental pressures such as
work-related stress, dysfunctional interpersonal relationships, natural
disaster, loss of loved ones and trauma. Due to restricted information and lack
of awareness, the inbuilt modes of survival are not appropriately used to
combat against stress. The article will highlight the role of the brain and its
contribution to our survival. As human beings the entity that makes us unique
from other organisms such as plants, fungi or animals is intelligence to
sustain the environmental pressures and it requires a lot of awareness and
approachability to adapt to hardships and distress. It’s a constant interaction
between the body and nature. Despite all pressures, mental alertness and
conscious awareness can be used to make decisions for our survival. One of the
foremost survival challenges as humans we face is Adaptation. But that is
surmountable.
Our bodies are constantly
defending us against dangers to physical health. Human survival depends
essentially on our immune system along with oxygen, food and water. Our body’s
defense system is complex to our biology. We are still not able to fully
understand it as our bodies are always evolving. For example, as new bacteria
multiply, viruses mutate and spread, the function of our body meets new
encounters and are renovated. Against all foreign things, our immune system is
effective at killing what poses danger to our bodies. Humans have congenital
ability to sustain because they are creative, adaptive and defeating. The
spread of deadly viruses and our bodies’ response strongly proves that
evolution is still in process and affecting our physical being.
Anxiety, Depression, Fear and PTSD commonly
spread due to pandemic, changes in life, economic and political instability, trauma etc. Psychologically and
emotionally, it may become so distressful that people get overwhelmed by states
such as obsessively washing hands, death anxiety and everywhere they see virus
particle. Fear of unknown is extensively experienced in such situations. High
psychological distress i.e., 33.0%
was observed in the U.S, few months into the outbreak of pandemic. In a survey
conducted in the U.S. half of the doctors/nurse’s reported depression and 44.6%
reported anxiety in the people. Even a year after the pandemic, PTSD still
prevails. Journal of aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 2008 reported similar
percentages after SARS outbreak.
Coping is key to our
survival in such situations. It
means restoring the balance and bringing the body calm after a stressful event.
Due to external pressures in the form of uncertainty, threat to our physical
health and mental well-being, we need to relax and use our innate ability to
survive. Psychological issues such as fear, anxiety, depression and stress can
easily be managed using our survival instincts. The use of healthy coping
mechanisms can boost our sense of equilibrium. As our brain perceives a threat,
it sounds an alarm and amygdala is activated. As a result, electric messages
are sent around our body. Due to stress the adrenal gland release hormones such
as adrenaline and cortisol. A stressed
brain has priority of getting you ready to fight or flee, coping begins by
convincing your brain that you are safe, and the easiest way is “Take a Deep
Breath!”, when you breathe deeply the message of safety activates, and
parasympathetic nervous system becomes active and gives us relaxation. Chalking
out a rational plan on how you are going to react to adverse news could also be
prepared for certain situations. Moreover, cooking, baking, painting, volunteer
work etc. would encourage a reward system by producing dopamine in your body
and reducing cortisol. There can be other, simpler yet powerful ways of
survival, e.g., balanced diet and exercise. The Princeton and British studies
in 2013 claim that exercise promotes resilient brain by releasing serotonin,
GABA and promote growth of new brain cells necessary for emotional regulation.
One of my clients, a
schoolteacher, 30, Hypochondriac, always used to worry about her physical
health and consulting different physicians at the same time. She never gave her
a chance to rest and process things. Even though her tests were clear, and no
health risk was reported, her adrenaline levels were consistently high and at
the end of the day she felt exhausted and overwhelmed and not able to sleep.
She wasn’t able to meet work stress. Eventually, upon seeking professional
advice, she realized her need for balance and effort to be made in her
lifestyle. Using above mentioned techniques and slowing down helped her to feel
less overwhelmed.
No one wants to be
stressed. Some individuals are particularly skilled at handling disturbing
events and carrying on. What is the secret to developing resilience, and how
can we mature it among ourselves? A major foundation of resiliency lies in our
instinct to survive is what psychologists call self-efficacy. It’s our faith
that our actions have the ability to affect our circumstances. There are vital
strategies we can build by interpreting our feelings positively, persevering
through failures, social persuasion and finding role models.
My clinical exposure concludes that
underutilization of survival instincts may stem from excessive use of
controlling tendencies, growing up with controlling parent, suffering trauma or
abuse, hopelessness, lack of social communication and poor family dynamics. One of my clients, 29, grew up with very controlling
parents. Parents had always imposed restrictions on her and was not allowed to
go out and play. They wanted her to do extremely well at school. This created
rigidity and perfectionism in her when she reached adulthood. She was
perfectionist both with herself and others. It created a huge amount of
anxiety, as she tried to meet her own impossible standards. and constant failure to meet her own
impossible standards. that affected. She would have panic attacks over slight
misfortunes such as getting late for a meeting.
During therapy, we need to dig out the root causes which have created
blockage for the ability to adapt. Trauma is the main root cause that inhibits
the adaptive information processing procedure in the brain.
We need to practice
self-care by involving our immune and nervous systems. Understanding the
illnesses is the first thing that sets us on a path of recovery. “Survival of
the fittest” requires us to learn something, change something, understand, and
heal something. It’s our biggest teacher and we need to make some efforts to
recognize what it is trying to teach. This way we can shift it for good and
deal with changes in our lives with resilience and face adversity with courage
and optimism.
References: -
1.
Becker, Anne E. Body, Self, and
Society: The View from Fiji, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995
2.
Goldin, P.R., and Gross, J.J. ‘Effects of
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotional regulation in social
anxiety disorder’, Emotion, 10(2010), pp. I, 83-91.
3.
http://uk.tm.org/stress-and-the-brain
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