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@article{186020,
        author = {CHANDAN KUMAR SINGH},
        title = {The Evolutionary Psychology of Mental Health: Adaptive Roots of Anxiety and Depression},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {5},
        pages = {3612-3617},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=186020},
        abstract = {The dominant biomedical model frames anxiety and depression as pathological malfunctions. This paper employs an evolutionary psychology framework to propose a paradigm shift, arguing that these conditions are expressions of deeply ingrained adaptive mechanisms that were beneficial in humanity's ancestral past. We systematically synthesize major evolutionary theories, contending that anxiety functioned as a hypersensitive threat-detection system (the smoke detector principle), while depression represents a suite of potential adaptations for social navigation (social risk hypothesis), complex problem-solving (analytical rumination hypothesis), and energy conservation during infection (pathogen-host defense theory). The critical bridge to modern pathology is explained by the mismatch theory, which highlights the dissonance between our ancient psychology and the modern environment. The primary objective is to integrate these theories into a coherent model that reframes these conditions from mere disorders to context-dependent strategic responses. Our hypotheses posit that anxiety is a calibrated defense system and that depression is a heterogeneous adaptation. The findings indicate that this evolutionary perspective offers a more nuanced, compassionate, and effective framework for understanding mental health, with significant implications for destigmatization, clinical practice, and future research. By asking "What was this designed to do?" rather than "What is broken?", we can foster a more profound understanding of human suffering.},
        keywords = {evolutionary psychology, anxiety, depression, adaptation, mismatch theory, social risk hypothesis},
        month = {October},
        }