Anxiety is extremely contagious but so is calm Harriet Learner Anxiety is a really important and normal human experience. Way back when, when our ancestors were living in caves and foraging for food anxiety was actually the thing that kept them alive because it alerted them to potential danger. Imagine walking out of your cave to find dinner and there is a tiger lurking in the trees. What you need in that moment is your brain to immediately spot the tiger and to prepare your body to either run away to safety or to fight the tiger. The cavemen who quickly spotted the tiger are the cavemen who survived (our ancestors) so this skill has been passed on through the generations. What this means is that our brains are wire