Everybody knows what anxiety feels like – it’s annoying and counterproductive and apparently useless, so why does it exist? It turns out your anxiety isn’t useless at all – it’s a result of the sympathetic nervous system (in charge of the fight or flight response), which lets you respond immediately to threats and can also help you meet that looming deadline. But you don’t want your SNS running the whole show – chronic anxiety not only feels crappy, it damages your cells, alters your brain chemistry, and can exacerbate a wide range of health problems. Hank has the whole story in this episode of SciShow.
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References:
Oxidative Stress & Anxiety
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763246/
Depression & Chronic Stress Accelerates Aging
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111109093729.htm
10 Stress-Related Health Problems You Can Fix
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/10-fixable-stress-related-health-problems
Relationship Between Oxidative Stress and Anxiety: Emerging role of antioxidants within therapeutic or preventative approaches
http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/17568/InTech-Relationship_between_oxidative_stress_and_anxiety_emerging_role_of_antioxidants_within_therapeutic_or_preventive_approaches.pdf