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Our human world is a difficult place to be right now. We are each navigating our own complex set of challenges. Despite inherent differences in our individual circumstances, the emotional tolls are similar and shared by many. The signs of dis-ease surround us. Concurrent with Covid-19, a pandemic of anxiety, depression, and PTSD has cloaked society. Medical doctors are documenting a rise in blood pressure, particularly among women. Substance abuse has increased. It is no mistake we are resigning from our jobs in droves (the “Great Resignation”); women are seeing and experiencing first-hand how societal constructs fail to honor their hearts, souls, and needs (the “She-session”); relationships are falling apart; people are transitioning, traveling, moving, set afloat. A great part of this unraveling relates to a profound disconnect between the way we are living and the way our minds, bodies, and souls have evolved to live. Evolutionary mismatch, a core concept underlying the field of evolutionary psychology (itself premised on the notion that human behavior is part of the natural world), is wreaking havoc on us. The idea suggests that organisms adapted to their environment via a slow process of biological evolution, when faced with rapid and intense changes to this environment, are hindered in their ability to fulfill reproductive needs. This model goes a long way towards explaining so much of the current Extinction Crisis, as organisms simply cannot adapt fast enough to escalating climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, overharvesting, population growth, and other human activities. It’s everywhere: the “abnormal” behavior in rhesus monkeys taken from their ancestral jungles and forced into isolation in cages; significant declines in Borneo’s orangutan population as humans destroy their habitat; misorientation—and often death—by light pollution for sea turtles and their offspring following their ancient egg-laying rituals on now-developed beaches. Vanishing amphibians, birds, fish, insects, pollinators, invertebrates, mammals, plants, reptiles. These profound ecological losses are not only inherently alarming, they also have striking emotional consequences, producing trauma, grief, anxiety, and depression in people. Evolutionary mismatch also explains much of our human distress: Our readily-available diet of processed foods high in sugar and fat is profoundly mismatched from the hard-won lean foods consumed by our hunting and gathering ancestors, resulting in an epidemic of obesity and related disease. Our nomadic ancestors moved to survive. They ran, walk, and lifted side-by-side as they hunted and gathered, responding to fleeting stressors. We spend our days sitting inside artificial environments, working behind screens, stressing about a continuous stream of deadlines. They lived outside and in community, adapted to fresh air, natural light, plant life, temperature variation. Today, we live more than 90% of our lives inside—and isolated from kin and community. All of this results in a host of documented mental, physical, and emotional consequence that include obesity, infection, allergies, and mental unwellness. And, then there’s the Digital Age. We all know the deal: Unnatural privacy invasions, an overwhelming number of connections, screens to hide behind as we interact, an unprecedented deluge of information. We have never been adapted to this kind of living and our wellbeing is suffering. Studies have shown correlations between overattachment to technology and lowered social skills, self-motivation, emotional intelligence, and empathy and increased conflict with others, ADHD, and depression in younger populations, and between depression, anxiety, depression, phobias, and other symptoms in all ages. Experts posit that the root of these symptoms is linked to repeated stress on our nervous systems. Even for those of us who seem to be successfully navigating the digital world, the impacts are real. Psychiatrist Edward Hallowell explained, “never in human history, our brains had to work so much information as today. We have now a generation of people who spend many hours in front of a computer monitor or a cell phone and who are so busy in processing the information received from all directions, so they lose the ability to think and feel. Most of this information is superficial. People are sacrificing the depth and feeling and cut off from other people.”
So, how to begin rematching? Get outside! Whenever and wherever possible. As often and for as much time as you can. Yes, the big adventures are powerful beyond measure. But, the daily efforts, no matter how small, make a difference. Walk, run, gather. Garden, eat, sleep. Engage your senses: Watch dewdrops glistening on a leave. Listen to the birds. Smell the flowers. Walk barefoot on the grass. Eat from your or another’s garden, or simply harvest and eat dandelions from a grassy yard. Sleep in a hammock. Go for a walk, hike, or run. Take your computer to the nearest outdoor bench, porch, garden, coffeeshop. Convene your meetings in a park. Eat your lunch outside. Stop. Get Quiet. Be Present. Breathe. Reconnect to yourself, the natural world around you, and the people in it. I promise, you’ll feel better. [It's well-documented that spending time in nature benefits our wellbeing. Among other things, it helps us down-regulate our nervous systems and decreases stress; increases immunity; improves blood pressure; enhances cognitive function, memory, attention, imagination, and creativity; increases positive affect, happiness, and positive social interactions; and improves manageability of life tasks.] Check out more of my writing here.
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