If 1 in 13 people globally live with an anxiety disorder, it stands to reason that our decision making as a whole is not top notch. Luana Marques, psychologist and president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, explains how anxiety ignites the limbic system in our brains which most notably dictates our emotional responses. This is unfortunate, as our best and most rational decision making is done in the prefrontal cortex of our brains.
According to Daniel Amen, psychiatrist and brain expert, “The prefrontal cortex
(PFC) is the most evolved part of the brain.” It is located in the front third of your brain, immediately behind your forehead. Due to its risky location, many people who experience head trauma or excessively utilize this part of their head for a sport, etc., can experience a loss of control over external stimuli, which in turn makes it very difficult to focus on rational decision making. A lot of impulsivity can be chalked up to a weakened PFC.
We’ve seen the shocking statistics about traumatic brain injuries experienced by football players, boxers and other extreme contact athletes. A 2017 research study conducted at Boston University found that of 202 brains of deceased football players examined, 177 or 87% of them showed signs of having a progressive degenerative disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). This disease is generally found in people who have sustained numerous head injuries of varying degrees in their life. Over a period of years people can start to degrade and experience disinhibition, learning disabilities, memory disturbances, and mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Traumatic brain injuries are also most commonly sustained by teenagers, young adults and people over 75. For teens and young adults, these injuries are usually due to motor vehicle accidents (49% of all TBI’s) or violence among youths (18% of TBI’s), and for people over 75 they are generally due to falls (29% of TBI’s). Each year it is estimated that 1.5 million people in the United States sustain a TBI. Though it is not an insane percentage of the American population, it is staggering to think that there are that many people out there forced to make life changing decisions without the proper resources. This can be said on so many fronts, but I’d like to start here.
Anxiety disorders and head injuries are not mutually exclusive, though they are comorbid for many. With such a large number of head injuries occurring each year, and approximately 75 percent of people with anxiety disorders living untreated, our rational heard decision-making is suffering. Keep this in mind when you see someone make a seemingly wild choice in the face of sheer chaos. Though their actions may be uncondonable, they prove that destigmatizing and prioritizing mental health in this country is imperative for our sur-thrival.
Catie Zimmerman 