Why Some People Are Born Anxious, With Daniel Keating
Have you ever noticed that some people are simply programmed for stress? Maybe you feel like you’ve experienced anxiety yourself. According to psychology professor Daniel Keating, how we deal with stress and anxiety could have been determined in the womb.
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Discussion this week
In his new book, Born Anxious: The Impact of Early Adversity — and How to Break the Cycle, Daniel Keating explores some of the biological underpinnings of stress. New evidence has emerged to suggest that if you face adversity in your first year of life or even in the womb, it can really affect how you deal with stress later in life. (In this sense, adversity can mean a lot; even if your mother was particularly worried about money or other factors in modern life, such as carrying you, this could affect how you regulate stress.)
This is a matter of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of how the same genes can be expressed in different ways. In other words, stress in the first year of life will not change your DNA, but it can affect your development. Adverse events early in life can potentially cause “stress dysregulation,” essentially a slight mismanagement of your body’s ability to handle stress.
So what can those of us destined to be anxious do to deal with our anxiety tendencies?
You’ve probably heard the answers by now: exercise. Conversation with therapy. Surround yourself with people who support you. And of course, seek professional help if needed. Listen to our discussion with Daniel Keating for a more in-depth explanation of the science of stress, epigenetics, and more.
Our weekly updates
Every week we like to wrap up the show with small improvements we’ve made to our lives.
- Andy : Spring came to New York last weekend. In fact, it was too much spring and I made a decision that changed my life: I am going to buy an air conditioner for my apartment before summer. Summer in New York is very disgusting and I deserve some relief.
- Melissa : Melissa taught her morning exercises to prepare everything the night before. Thus, there is nothing to set and, so to speak, there is no entry barrier. Plus, Baggu’s carry-on luggage that she mentioned last week actually turned out to be too large. Baggoo is too biggoo.
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