Sep 21, 2026 · 46 min · 14 segments
Jeremy discusses his research on the deep natural history of anxiety, the unique challenges faced by humans, and the coping mechanisms for anxiety. He also explores the concept of confidence…
Jeremy ShermanGuestPeteHostYeah, that's a good question, though, because think about it.
All of us deal with anxiety in some way and things like that, too.
But then you turn it on its head because now you're like, OK, not just me, but what's wrong with everybody? And that curiosity has led you a long way.
I mean, you've got a thousand articles written in psychology today and things like that.
It's insane, though, when you look back at it because you're like, I just started writing one and then it took off from there kind of thing, you know, but that's such an interesting area to get into, though.
you know, just a history of anxiety, you know, because like you said, most, we're the only ones that speak, but other people don't deal with it the same way that, oh, my dog's really anxious.
Is it really though anxious or is it just a dog being a dog though, you know?
I mean, uh, as soon as you got nervous systems, you're going to have feelings, but what they don't have is the whole imagination that humans have that we can imagine anything.
For example, I work closely with these guys, uh, researchers in what's called terror management theory.
Since humans have language, we're the only ones who can imagine with, with just completely cornered with the fact that we're going to die.
What happens when you remind someone that they're going to die? What do they do with the anxiety of that? Well, no other critter deals with that.
They may have some sense of what it's like when one of their fellow critters dies, like their mate dies or their children die, their offspring die.
You could lose sleep tonight over the fact that someday you're going to be dead.
Yeah, that's a good question, though, because think about it.
All of us deal with anxiety in some way and things like that, too.
But then you turn it on its head because now you're like, OK, not just me, but what's wrong with everybody? And that curiosity has led you a long way.
I mean, you've got a thousand articles written in psychology today and things like that.
It's insane, though, when you look back at it because you're like, I just started writing one and then it took off from there kind of thing, you know, but that's such an interesting area to get into, though.
you know, just a history of anxiety, you know, because like you said, most, we're the only ones that speak, but other people don't deal with it the same way that, oh, my dog's really anxious.
Is it really though anxious or is it just a dog being a dog though, you know?
I mean, uh, as soon as you got nervous systems, you're going to have feelings, but what they don't have is the whole imagination that humans have that we can imagine anything.
For example, I work closely with these guys, uh, researchers in what's called terror management theory.
Since humans have language, we're the only ones who can imagine with, with just completely cornered with the fact that we're going to die.
What happens when you remind someone that they're going to die? What do they do with the anxiety of that? Well, no other critter deals with that.
They may have some sense of what it's like when one of their fellow critters dies, like their mate dies or their children die, their offspring die.
You could lose sleep tonight over the fact that someday you're going to be dead.
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