Anxiety and evolution: Has anxiety been good for humans? 6 Minute English

94,991 views ・ 2019-05-02

BBC Learning English


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Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English I'm Rob.
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Neil: And I'm Neil.
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Rob: Do you ever experience anxiety, Neil?
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Neil: Anxiety?
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Rob: Yes, you know, a feeling of
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being really worried or nervous
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without any real reason.
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Neil: Well not really, but I know for some
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people it can be quite a serious problem.
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Rob: Well anxiety may be a result
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of natural selection.
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Neil: Natural selection? You mean,
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the principle behind evolution?
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Rob: Yes. The idea that life on this planet
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has developed as a result
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of random changes
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in biology over many many years.
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Neil: So why have anxiety, that seems
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like a negative rather than
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a positive thing to develop?
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Rob: Well, we'll find out more in this
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programme, but before we do, a quiz.
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Charles Darwin is famous for
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describing evolution by natural selection.
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What was the name of the ship he
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travelled on when he made
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his discoveries? Was it:
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a) HMS Beagle, b) HMS Badger,
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or c) HMS Bear?
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What do you think, Neil?
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Neil: Well I'm pretty sure I know this one,
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so I'm not going to give away
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the answer just yet.
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Rob: Well, you can let me know
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at the end of the programme, before
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I give the answer.
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Right, Dr Randolph Nesse is a doctor
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and psychologist. He has written
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a lot about how evolution has
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an impact on our mental condition,
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particularly anxiety. Recently he spoke
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on BBC Radio 4's 'Start the Week'
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programme about this topic.
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Listen out for the answer to this question.
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How long did he treat patients
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at the University of Michigan for?
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Dr Randolph Nesse: Natural selection
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has shaped all organisms to have
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special states to cope with certain
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kinds of circumstances. I treated
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patients with anxiety disorders
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for 40 years at the University of
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Michigan. It was only half way through
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that I started realising
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that anxiety is there for a good reason.
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Rob: So Neil, how long did he treat
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patients for at the University of Michigan?
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Neil: He says that he did that for 40 years,
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but it was only after about 20 years or so
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that he realised that we suffer
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from anxiety for a good reason.
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Rob: We'll find out that reason shortly
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but first he said that
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natural selection has shaped
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all organisms. This means that we are
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the result of natural selection. It has
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made us what we are.
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Neil: And it has made us able to cope
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with different situations. To cope
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with means being able to deal with,
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being able to manage
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a difficult situation.
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Rob: And anxiety, if it's not too great,
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is a way of dealing
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with particular situations.
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Let's hear from Dr Nesse again.
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Dr Randolph Nesse: Natural selection
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has shaped all organisms to have
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special states to cope
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with certain kinds of circumstances.
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I treated patients with anxiety disorders
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for 40 years at the University of
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Michigan. It was only half way through
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that I started realising
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that anxiety is there for a good reason.
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Rob: So why is anxiety a necessary thing,
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why is it something that, within reason, is
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not a bad emotion. Here's
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Dr Nesse talking about his patients
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who suffer from too much anxiety.
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Dr Randolph Nesse: What you're having
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is a normal kind of emergency response
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which is great in
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life-threatening situations but
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for you it's a false alarm like a smoke
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detector going off when you burn
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the toast. And after that many of my
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patients said: 'Oh, that makes
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perfect sense, I think I won't need
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your help after all, doctor'.
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Rob: So what is anxiety?
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Neil: Well, it's your body reacting
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to danger, like an emergency response,
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a warning. In really dangerous
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situations, which could harm
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you or even kill you, which
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Dr Nesse describes as
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life-threatening situations, it's a useful
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response to warn you to take action or to
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prepare for action.
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Rob: But some people experience anxiety
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when there is no real danger.
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It's a false alarm, like when you burn the
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toast and the smoke detector alarm
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starts or as he says, goes off!
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And he says that some patients can feel
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less worried after that, when they realise
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anxiety is a natural thing.
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Let's hear from Dr Nesse again.
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Dr Randolph Nesse: What you're
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having is a normal kind of emergency
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response which is great in
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life-threatening situations but
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for you it's a false alarm
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like a smoke detector going off
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when you burn the toast. And after
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that many of my patients said : 'Oh, that
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makes perfect sense, I think I won't need
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your help after all, doctor'.
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Rob: Time now to review
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today's vocabulary, but first,
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let's have the answer to the quiz
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question. What was the name of
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the ship Charles Darwin travelled on
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when he made his discoveries
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about evolution? Was it:
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a) HMS Beagle, b) HMS Badger,
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or c) HMS Bear?
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What do you think, Neil?
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Neil: Well, I'm pretty sure it's HMS Beagle.
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Rob: Well, you are right. Charles Darwin
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travelled on HMS Beagle.
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Congratulations if you also
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knew that. Now, on with today's
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vocabulary. We were talking about
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anxiety, a feeling of
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being worried or scared, a feeling
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that something isn't quite right.
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Neil: Dr Nesse suggests that anxiety is
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a result of natural selection.
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This is the principle of
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evolution whereby random changes in the
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biology of a living thing can make it more
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likely to survive in
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a particular environment.
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Rob: These changes shape the
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living thing. They make it what it is.
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They help it to cope with
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different situations. Which means that
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they help it manage or
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deal with those situations.
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Neil: A life-threatening situation is
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a very dangerous situation which
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could cause serious
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injury or even death.
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Rob: And finally there was the
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phrasal verb to go off. For example,
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if an alarm goes off,
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it means that is starts making a loud
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noise as a warning. Right,
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before any alarms start
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to go off here, we need to wrap up.
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That's all from us today, do join us
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next time. Until then,
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you can find us online, on social media
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and on our app. Look out for
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bbclearningenglish.
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Bye for now.
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Neil: Goodbye!
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