The Root Cause of Anxiety?

"When we feel lonely, people may see us as aloof, less than empathic, socially insensitive, perhaps even ungenerous, when, deep down, what's really going on is that our cognition and self-regulation are being distorted by fear." —John Cacioppo

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction: An age of anxiety
0:50 The aetiology of social anxiety
2:45 Social baseline theory
4:23 Social isolation leads to short-term self-preservation
6:05 Social isolation increases the predicted cost of the environment
7:39 Conclusion: Perceived social isolation makes us anxious

References:
- Murray B. Stein and Dan J. Stein: Social anxiety disorder
- Joan Chiao and Katherine Blizinsky: Culture–gene coevolution of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene
- Lane Beckes and James A. Coan: Social Baseline Theory: The Role of Social Proximity in Emotion and Economy of Action
- John Cacioppo et al: Social isolation

Image: The Desperate Man by Gustave Courbet