Anxiety evolved to help us — what went wrong? A neuroscientist explains. | Wendy Suzuki

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki explains why zero anxiety isn’t the goal. Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► Up next, The #1 way to strengthen your mind is to use your body | Wendy Suzuki ► Anxiety is a feature of evolution, not a bug. That doesn’t make it less uncomfortable, though. The good news is that we can harness it to our benefit, says Wendy Suzuki, a neuroscientist and the author of “Good Anxiety.“ By tapping into what she calls the six “superpowers” of anxiety, we can redirect these uncomfortable feelings into positive outcomes. Suzuki explains the neurological root of anxiety, including how the amygdala automatically activates when we are scared or stressed. To make matters worse, the prefrontal cortex — the rational, executive function center of the brain — shuts down when we need it most. But we’re not powerless against our