In this episode of Simplify, Caitlin asks Randolph Nesse why he believes that humans have evolved to experience hardships such as depression, anxiety and grief. As it turns out, while many of our most painful emotions often do not serve a proper function in our modern world, they may have a history that allowed for our ancestors to survive.

Randolph Nesse is a Professor and Founding Director of The Center for Evolution and Medicine at Arizona State University. His decades of experience in a clinical setting have informed his research and commitment to furthering our understanding of modern psychology through the study of evolution. He has written a handful of books covering topics such as bereavement, depression, interpersonal relationships, and his latest book, Good Reasons for Bad Feelings, connects all of these with Evolutionary Psychiatry. He has devoted his career to bringing insights from evolutionary biology into our practice of medicine today.

For more info, including links to everything discussed in the episode, check out this link: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-psychiatry-randolph-nesse/[2]

Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/simplify][3], tapping on Try Blinkist at the top right, and entering the code evolve. Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at [@caitlinschiller][4], Ben at [@bsto][5].

Simplify is produced by Caitlin Schiller with unparalleled co-hosting by Ben Schuman-Stoler. Thanks to Ines Bläsius for production assistance and Christoph Meyer for audio engineering chops. The new Simplify theme is by the one and only Odysseas Constantinou.

[1]: https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/good-reasons-for-bad-feelings-en

[2]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-psychiatry-randolph-nesse/

[3]: https://www.blinkist.com/simplify

[4]: https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller?lang=en

[5]: https://twitter.com/bsto

[6]: https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/simplify-randolph-nesse-transcript/