The Happiness Cure reminds us that we aren’t supposed to feel happy all the time. Anxiety, panic, and even depression are important survival mechanisms evolution built into us. But luckily, you can “trick” evolution and experience more feel-good emotions than you were meant to.
Many people suffer from minor depression or anxiety. And these issues are on the rise. But how is that possible when our standard of living has continuously improved? We seem to have it all. Our lives appear to be better than those of previous generations, yet we are more miserable than ever. As Anders Hansen points out, the reason for this is rooted in biology. From an evolutionary perspective, humans aren’t built to be happy all the time.
One of the reasons why we have survived as a species is because of our feelings. Our feelings aren’t meant to provide us with constant happiness but to keep us alive. This is why, from an evolutionary perspective, happiness doesn’t need to be a lasting sensation. If we were happy all the time and never scared, disappointed, or sad, we likely wouldn’t have been able to survive as a species. We’d be joyfully jumping around while a tiger approaches and kills us. It’s fear and unpopular emotions like sadness that guarantee our survival.
Anxiety and panic are particularly interesting examples of feelings that don’t make us happy but are designed to keep us alive. From a biological and evolutionary perspective, anxiety and panic do not always need a clear reason. It’s enough that anxiety and panic have saved us (or at least our ancestors) many times from dying. Another way of thinking about this is that evolution prefers to be cautious rather than careless. It’s better to be anxious too often than too little. Making sure we feel anxiety or even panic frequently, even if it means sometimes feeling anxious in non-dangerous situations, increases our odds of survival.
It may seem as if anxiety is an abnormal feeling. If you’ve ever felt anxiety, you might have asked yourself: Why am I feeling this way? Is something wrong with me? In reality, everyone experiences anxiety. It’s estimated that one in four people will experience a panic attack at some point in their lives, which is one of the most intense forms of anxiety. Some people develop anxiety disorders, meaning their day-to-day life is moderately or severely restricted by their anxiety. However, experiencing some anxiety or even panic is perfectly normal. It’s part of our survival mechanism and one of the reasons why you—and humanity as a whole—are still alive.
Like anxiety, depression can be seen as a defense mechanism. It’s estimated that one in four women and one in seven men will experience depression at some point in their lives. While the symptoms of depression can vary from person to person, a common thread is a feeling of meaninglessness. What once brought joy no longer does. Depression is often triggered by periods of stress. There is a growing body of research suggesting that depression may act as a defense mechanism against infections.
So how is depression linked to infection? Throughout most of human history, stress has been an indicator of infection. In the face of conflict, danger, threats, or events that could uproot our livelihoods, we experience stress. The threats and dangers that cause us stress, such as conflict, being attacked, or losing someone who protects us, increase our likelihood of getting wounded, sustaining injuries, and developing infections as a result. Unlike today, life expectancy was not as high in the past. Most hunter-gatherers lived only until about thirty, and many children died during epidemics such as the Spanish Flu. To protect us from potential injuries and the deadly infections resulting from them, our brains produce the feeling we know as “depression" and cause us to withdraw.
To take it a step further, our bodies use inflammation as a marker to assess our level of threat. The high levels of stress and sedentary lifestyles that many of us lead today result in increased inflammation. Our brains interpret this elevated inflammation as a sign that we are at risk of prolonged injury and infection, making us feel unmotivated and down. When we’re unmotivated, we’re less likely to engage with the situation that increases our risk for injury, therefore acting as an automatic defensive mechanism to ensure our survival.
Exercise is one of the best, if not the best, ways to counteract depression. When we exercise, several things happen. Our HPA axis, which is the body’s most central stress system, calms down after exercise. Psychiatric research has shown that activity in the HPA axis increases during depression. Exercise has the exact opposite effect: it decreases activity in the body’s most crucial stress center. Additionally, depression has been linked to low levels of dopamine and serotonin. Both of these neurotransmitters increase after exercise, further contributing to the antidepressant effect of exercise.
What’s even more fascinating is that activity in the HPA axis is also elevated during stress and anxiety. This means that exercising doesn’t just counteract depression. It also reduces anxiety. The research is clear: people who exercise are less anxious. Going for a walk a few times a week can be enough to protect you against feelings of depression and anxiety. But the optimal level, according to Anders Hansen, is to get between two to six hours of cardiovascular exercise per week.
Note: Although not as thoroughly researched as exercise, some anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests that cold exposure may enhance your mood. Wim Hof, also known as the “Iceman,” has written an entire book called The Wim Hof Method in which he teaches the art of cold exposure.
One of the most frustrating aspects is that evolution also had to prevent us from starving. This is why human beings seek to preserve their energy and calories. In other words, feeling lazy and not wanting to work out is perfectly normal. Even though exercising is one of the best things you can do to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression, evolution has to make sure that you don’t exercise all the time to feel good. If that were the case, our ancestors might have exercised themselves to the point of starvation. Our natural laziness is a preservation mechanism as well, which unfortunately is why so many people find it challenging to exercise regularly, although it literally is the solution to so many problems.
As you have learned earlier, happiness is meant to be a transient state. If we were always happy, our ancestors would have been eaten alive while dancing around happily and singing. It’s anxiety, even panic, that kept them alive. Although our brains produce happiness, it cannot be permanent since other feelings like anxiety and sadness are important parts of our inner compass as well. Therefore, chasing the elusive state of happiness is an impossible undertaking. In fact, the more you chase happiness, the less of it you’ll probably experience. Rather than chasing happiness or thinking about it, let it come naturally to you. Focus on other things and let these moments of fleeting happiness find you, rather than running after them. This doesn’t mean you can’t improve the overall base level of how you feel, but feeling ecstatic happiness all the time isn’t realistic, and as you now know, no one does since it would be incompatible with survival.
Make sure you get two to six hours of cardiovascular exercise a week. This is the optimal amount to counteract the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression. And keep in mind that it’s normal to feel lazy. This is evolution trying to preserve your energy despite the benefits of exercise.
Don’t chase happiness. Focus on things that are good for you, such as exercising, and let those fleeting moments of happiness and exhilaration come to you without forcing them. Remember, nobody feels happy all the time. It’s impossible and not compatible with evolution.
The Happiness Cure examines depression and anxiety through the lens of evolutionary biology. Anders Hansen presents a compelling argument for why what we consider negative emotions are merely healthy defense mechanisms meant to keep us alive. He concludes that physical exercise is one of the most effective ways to safeguard against anxiety and depression. Many people already understand this, but hearing it from a psychiatrist and seeing real research to support it is encouraging.
Many psychiatrists often prescribe “happy pills” in the form of antidepressants that boost serotonin or dopamine levels in the brain. However, these medications may not be as effective as intended. Exercise can positively influence the HPA axis and increase the production of feel-good neurotransmitters. Unlike antidepressants, it also doesn’t come with any unwanted side effects.
One aspect that isn’t emphasized enough is the distinction between mild anxiety, minor depression, and clinical disorders. Additionally, the role of cognition and metacognition in sustaining anxiety disorders and clinical depression doesn’t receive sufficient attention. For instance, clinical psychiatrist Adrian Wells highlights how maladaptive thinking styles and attentional patterns—such as worry, rumination, and threat monitoring—significantly contribute to keeping an individual trapped in persistent major depression and long-term anxiety disorders. While exercise, much like “happy pills,” can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, addressing these detrimental thinking patterns is equally crucial. If stress leads to depression, what happens when someone is in a constant state of stress due to extreme worry and rumination? Exercise alone will not resolve the underlying cause of the stress. This is why anxiety disorders and major depression require psychotherapy.
However, for mild anxiety and non-clinical depressive symptoms, exercise may be just what’s needed. For the average person experiencing some level of anxiety and low mood, The Happiness Cure is an excellent and important read. In fact, psychiatrists should start considering prescribing Anders Hansen’s book instead of pills.
We recommend this book to anyone experiencing mild anxiety and low mood. However, if you are facing serious emotional pain or extremely high levels of anxiety, it’s advisable to seek help from a doctor, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist.
This summary of The Happiness Cure leaves out many details and even entire chapters, like the one on loneliness. If you want to delve deeper into the theory of depression and infection, and understand why anxiety serves as a defense mechanism, consider picking up a copy of the book.
Note: One could argue that social media makes this problem worse. Most of the time, people only show their best side on social media. This creates a false sense that we should be happy all the time.