Depression and anxiety: maladaptive byproducts of adaptive mechanisms

Depression and anxiety disorders inflict untold harm on an enormous number of people. In the United States in a single year, nearly 10% of the population will suffer from a mood disorder and more than 20% will suffer from an anxiety disorder. Over the course of a lifetime, these numbers increase to 20% for mood disorders and 30% for anxiety disorders (National Institute of Mental Health 2016). From an evolutionary perspective, the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders poses a serious puzzle. The typical onset of these disorders occurs before or during an individual’s reproductive years (Kessler et al., 2005) and they can be severely detrimental to even basic daily functioning. Why has natural selection left us vulnerable in this way?

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