So, I'm reading this article on the New York Times online about a longitudinal study on anxiety. It's one of those studies that, according to one developmental psychiatrist, "shows you irrefutably what you had an intuition about, something you thought was true but didn’t have evidence to support.” In other words, it's a 'duh' study.
"NEWS BREAK! Scientists have discovered that men tend to be attracted to women with large breasts!"
Duh.
"Flash! A UBC study finds people with foreign names face discrimination in the job market!"
Duh.
"This just in! A study finds that smoking marijuana can cause brain damage AND cancer!"
DUH!!!
Still, 'duh' studies fulfill an important role. As the shrink implies, if you don't know something for a fact than you cannot assume it is true. You can intuit all you want, but you cannot claim that you really know until the people in white coats with clipboards give you a thumbs-up.
Anyway, all of this is besides the point of the post. The point is that all of the descriptions of anxiety remind me of how anxious I am on a daily basis! The fidgeting, the avoidance behavior... it's all me! Of course, we all have good reasons to be anxious these days, but what if I'm what the article calls a "born worrier"? Someone genetically hardwired to always freak out? Doesn't this query reveal a pathological anxious streak?
Nah.
Truth is, we all have a tendancy to believe that we suffer from symptoms once they are descibed to us, or so I assume. I'm still waiting to hear from the white coats about that one.
To read about more silly research, check out the news from the ig Nobel awards.
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