The default response to uncertainty and the importance of perceived safety in anxiety and stress: An evolution-theoretical perspective

Highlights • Anxiety, or more general the stress response is a default response to uncertainty. • This default response is under tonic inhibition as long as safety is perceived. • Chronic anxiety and stress are due generalized unsafety (GU) rather than threat. • GU is present in many other condition...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of anxiety disorders Vol. 41; pp. 22 - 34
Main Authors Brosschot, Jos F, Verkuil, Bart, Thayer, Julian F
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2016
Subjects
Anxiety - psychology
Chronic anxiety
Default stress response
Generalized unsafety
Heart rate variability
Humans
Perceived safety
Perception
Prefrontal inhibition
Psychiatry
Safety
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Uncertainty
Prefrontal inhibition
Generalized unsafety
Perceived safety
Heart rate variability
Chronic anxiety
Default stress response
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Summary:Highlights • Anxiety, or more general the stress response is a default response to uncertainty. • This default response is under tonic inhibition as long as safety is perceived. • Chronic anxiety and stress are due generalized unsafety (GU) rather than threat. • GU is present in many other conditions, including loneliness, obesity and old age. • Intolerance for uncertainty is a natural property, alleviated by perceiving safety.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
content type line 23
ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:0887-6185
1873-7897
DOI:10.1016/j.janxdis.2016.04.012