Why anxiety might be good for you
Research suggests people with higher stress levels may be better at processing bad news
Feeling stressed and suffering from anxiety can leave sufferers better equipped to deal with life, according to a new study.
Anxiety - defined as a state consisting of psychological and physical symptoms triggered by apprehension over a perceived threat - has repeatedly been found to have a host of negative effects on both the mind and body.
But researchers at University College London say that this mental state may be helpful when it comes to tackling bad news.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, is the first of its kind.
In the laboratory experiment, the researchers first induced stress in a group of volunteers comprising 36 young men and women, by telling them that they had to give a surprise public speech, the Daily Mail reports. This anxiety-triggering news was not given to a similarly sized control group.
All the participants were asked next to estimate their likelihood of experiencing 40 different negative events, such as being involved in a car accident, or falling victim to credit card fraud.
Samples of their saliva were then taken to check for the stress hormone cortisol, before the two groups “were given either good or bad news - being told their likelihood of experiencing these events was lower or higher than they had estimated, respectively”, the newspaper says.
When subsequently asked to again assess their odds of those events happening, the control group showed what is known as “optimism bias”, which is a tendency to take more notice of good news than bad news. However, the participants with higher levels of cortisol in their saliva samples showed no such bias and were better at processing the bad news.
Psychologist Dr Neil Garrett, lead author of the study, said: “Humans are better at integrating desirable information into their beliefs than undesirable.
“Such flexibility in how individuals integrate information may enhance the likelihood of responding to warnings with caution in environments rife with threat, while maintaining a positivity bias otherwise, a strategy that can increase well-being.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 highly educational cartoons about student protests
Cartoons Artists take on apolitical camping, the National Guard, and more
By The Week US Published
-
French schools and the scourge of teenage violence
Talking Point Gabriel Attal announces 'bold' intervention to tackle rise in violent incidents
By The Week UK Published
-
On the trail of India’s wild lions at Sasan Gir National Park
The Week Recommends The sanctuary is a 'roaring' conservation success
By The Week UK Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
How helpful are mental health apps?
Under the radar Market is booming, offering accessibility and affordability, but many apps are unregulated and share sensitive user data
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How the transmission of Alzheimer's might be possible
The Explainer New research links dementia cases to injections of human growth hormone from deceased donors' brains
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Car fatality rates are driving up
The Explainer The dang Covid pandemic made us worse drivers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Argentina: the therapy capital of the world
Under the radar Buenos Aires natives go hungry to pay for psychoanalysis, amid growing instability, anxiety – and societal acceptance
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Workplace wellness programmes: a waste of time and money?
Talking Point Global corporate industry is booming but positive impact on staff well-being is debatable
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published