Stress, anxiety and depression

This chapter explores the neurobiology of the body and the brain that underlies these interlinked conditions. Some stress and anxiety is inevitable and serves to keep us alert. When some becomes a lot, the left hemisphere may suppress the right and focus attention on whatever provokes stress and anxiety. But when a lot becomes too much, the right hemisphere may dominate as it struggles for affective and somatic regulation. If it cannot calm the autonomic nervous system, depression may result. Different ideas about the causes of stress, anxiety and depression, and some of the ways they manifest, are examined, along with how therapists can work to alleviate them.