Worry and Criminal Minds

Watch Out! Run!

I wanted to relate the below thought to several recent posts:

• How Loss Creates Depression And Growth
• Death, Depression, Firefighters, Great Friends
• My answer on Beyond Blue to Therese’s second question about Depression’s Upside
• My digital book Furies!

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One of the biggest categories of TV shows is the police procedural, for example, NCIS, CSI, and Criminal Minds. These shows portray two types of characters - the lax victim and the vigilant criminal.

We all understand the lax victim. We watch someone drunk or distracted or lost in some darkened alley, and we think, “Do go there! Watch Out! Run.” When the criminal approaches we get anxious, our hearts race, our breathing quickens, our palms sweat, blood runs into our legs, and we furiously search for what we might do to get away. These scenes inspire our vigilance as if we are trying to compensate for the victim’s cluelessness.

The criminals of these TV shows often are vigilant to insure they can get away with their crime. They have collected resources in anticipation of the possibility of being caught. The criminals can have elaborate plots. They can threaten the law with lethal force. Or maybe they have co-conspirators in high places.

Police procedurals have been part of culture for a long time. Sherlock Holmes is more than 100 years old. Perhaps the value of this form of drama has grown as civilization has reduced the threat and consequence of violence. In tribal societies, one of the largest causes of death is warfare and murder, often accounting for more than 15% of all deaths, on par with maternal death rates.

We worry a lot and, in an historical sense, for good reason. We practice worry so we can use vigilance as a skill to help us out of risky or threatening circumstances.

When natural disasters strike, many people watch the news coverages for days, immersed in images and stories of personal calamity, possibly exacerbating the tendency to depressive symptoms. On the other hand, a common recommendation to increase happiness is to stop watching the news.

Happier people tend to have a relaxed optimism and make sense of loss more readily (perhaps because they are less critical of possible explanations). These people are the same ones who metaphorically wander darkened alleys. Since civilization has reduced the consequence of being lax, happy-go-lucky people indeed are luckier.

Those who are more vigilant notice the first hints of a possible threat, minimize the consequences, make appropriate, detailed plans to address the threat, and are the most creative at reconciling a deep sense of violation with the demands for realistic insight. These benefits are significant. The cost, however, can be increased risk of depression.