Humans can't survive without anxiety... but it's fair to say that living with it is no walk in the park. Whether it's a sudden feeling of unease, fear, impending doom, or a lingering sense of worry or dread that never seems to go away, we need anxiety even if we'd much rather live without it. So how do we live with it?  How do we understand it so we can regain control when our bodies' alarm tells us there's something to fear?  And how do we keep hold of our anxieties and prevent them from developing into something more serious? In this month's deep-dive episode, Laine walks us through some of the science behind the second-most common mental illness that humans experience. Using findings from scientists LeDoux, Pine, Nesse, Caouette, Guyer, and McNally, we discuss things like: what parts of the brain are involved when we feel anxious (and why its similarity to depression is important) how to recognize anxious behavior in ourselves and others and what we can do to offer support and keep anxiety at bay (since we can't ever get rid of it completely) For more resources on anxiety, head to the episode on our website www.brainblownpodcast.com. If you have any topics you'd be interested in learning more about, please feel free to send us an email at [email protected]! We'd love to hear from you. TIMESTAMPS 1:05 - intro 8:20 - Caveman Jo 10:48 - Why Neuroscience? 13:52 - Break 14:07 - The Brain 23:46 - New "Neighbors" Involved 28:41 - Break 28:53 - The Body 37:09 - The Behavior 39:31 - Break 39:47 - Takeaways RESOURCES Joseph E. LeDoux, Ph.D., Daniel S. Pine, M.D. - Using Neuroscience to Help Understand Fear and Anxiety: A Two-System Framework Randolph Nesse - "Proximate and evolutionary studies of anxiety, stress and depression: synergy at the interface" Justin D. Caouette, Amanda E. Guyer - "Gaining insight into adolescent vulnerability for social anxiety from developmental cognitive neuroscience" Richard J. McNally - "Mechanisms of exposure therapy: How neuroscience can improve psychological treatments for anxiety disorders"