The Evolutionary Psychology Of Anxiety & Depression - Ed Hagen

Ed Hagen is an evolutionary anthropologist, Professor at Washington State University, a researcher and an author. Low mood, depression and anxiety are states we will all become familiar with at some point in our lives. But why did evolution create a creature that is able to contemplate so much complexity that sometimes it suffers psychologically? Why are we wired to feel this way and how are we able to pull ourselves out? Expect to learn the evolutionary reason why humans get depressed, how postpartum depression is adaptive, why being strong can lower your chances of depression, how evolutionary theory can improve all of medicine, why women are so much more depressed on average than men, why humans are even capable of suicide and much more... Sponsors: Get the Whoop 4.0 for free and get your first month for free at http://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours with your first box at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (automatically applied at checkout) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Extra Stuff: Follow Ed on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ed_hagen Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #evolutionarypsychology #depression #anxiety - 00:00 Intro 00:38 Why Has Depression Survived Evolution? 05:42 Explaining Depressive Symptoms 15:00 The Sex Difference in Depression 19:23 Can You Become Less Depressed by Becoming Stronger? 23:30 Why Men Commit Suicide More Than Women 29:41 Why Natural Selection Hasn’t Made Suicide Impossible 35:14 Age as a Factor in Suicide Statistics 41:06 The Cause of Post-Partum Depression 47:31 Is Evolutionary Psychology Racist? 53:38 Critiques of Evolutionary Psychology 56:28 Music’s Role in Evolution 1:02:50 Where to Find Ed - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Ed HagenguestChris Williamsonhost

May 25, 20231h 3mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: May 25, 2023
Duration: 1h 3m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Ed Hagen is an evolutionary anthropologist, Professor at Washington State University, a researcher and an author. Low mood, depression and anxiety are states we will all become familiar with at some point in our lives. But why did evolution create a creature that is able to contemplate so much complexity that sometimes it suffers psychologically? Why are we wired to feel this way and how are we able to pull ourselves out? Expect to learn the evolutionary reason why humans get depressed, how postpartum depression is adaptive, why being strong can lower your chances of depression, how evolutionary theory can improve all of medicine, why women are so much more depressed on average than men, why humans are even capable of suicide and much more... Sponsors: Get the Whoop 4.0 for free and get your first month for free at http://join.whoop.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours with your first box at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (automatically applied at checkout) Get 83% discount & 3 months free from Surfshark VPN at https://surfshark.deals/MODERNWISDOM (use code MODERNWISDOM) Extra Stuff: Follow Ed on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ed_hagen Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #evolutionarypsychology #depression #anxiety - 00:00 Intro 00:38 Why Has Depression Survived Evolution? 05:42 Explaining Depressive Symptoms 15:00 The Sex Difference in Depression 19:23 Can You Become Less Depressed by Becoming Stronger? 23:30 Why Men Commit Suicide More Than Women 29:41 Why Natural Selection Hasn’t Made Suicide Impossible 35:14 Age as a Factor in Suicide Statistics 41:06 The Cause of Post-Partum Depression 47:31 Is Evolutionary Psychology Racist? 53:38 Critiques of Evolutionary Psychology 56:28 Music’s Role in Evolution 1:02:50 Where to Find Ed - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Ed Hagen
guest
Chris Williamson
host
Narrator
other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Ed Hagen and Chris Williamson, The Evolutionary Psychology Of Anxiety & Depression - Ed Hagen explores evolutionary roots of depression, suicide, strength, and music explained Ed Hagen applies evolutionary psychology to reframe depression, suicidality, postpartum depression, and even music as potentially adaptive responses to adversity rather than mere malfunctions. He argues that depression is analogous to physical pain—an evolved form of “psychic pain” that halts harmful behavior, forces deep problem-solving (rumination), and signals need to others. He presents data suggesting that the apparent sex difference in depression is largely a strength difference, with physical formidability influencing who prevails in social conflicts and thus who is more likely to become depressed. Hagen also proposes that most suicide attempts and postpartum depression function as costly, credible signals of need, and that music and synchronized performance evolved as honest signals of coalition quality.

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