Charles Darwin is well known for the five-year voyage aboard the Beagle that he took to the Galápagos Islands as a young man, and his later contributions to the science of evolution. What people didn't know is that he suffered from anxiety symptoms. Sadly, unlike people nowadays who had access to mental health experts and emotional support animals, he had to figure how to deal with his feelings on his own. He explained his revolutionary theory, including a process he called natural selection, in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. His intellect is admired by the world, which is why there are people who wish he could have gotten help for his panic disorder and other conditions either with a mental health professional or a service animal. But what is less well known is that Darwin lived a very reclusive life after returning to England from the Beagle voyage. Some scholars have suggested that he was wracked with a severe panic disorder that manifested itself in a variety of puzzling symptoms, including heart palpitations, shortness of breath, feelings of impending doom, hysterical crying, and severe nausea and vomiting. Darwin lived in a century where mental health wasn't given importance as much as it's getting today. So instead of getting professional help or being advised to get an ESA, Darwin, and many other people have had to deal with their anxieties on their own. In a cruel twist of fate, the quiet, isolated lifestyle necessitated by his medical problems undoubtedly gave him time to formulate his groundbreaking theory of evolution. If only Charles Darwin had an actual beagle as an ESA instead of a ship, then maybe things would have been different. For one, his anxiety would have been kept at bay and maybe he would have been able to contribute so much more than he already did to the Science world. Darwin himself described this situation, writing in 1876 that "ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement." It's a point of query what an emotional support animal could have done to mitigate this. Instead, we're left to wonder the possibilities if he had access to the same help people do now.
Charles Darwin's puzzling condition:
- Over the years, researchers have speculated about Darwin’s plight. In 1997, University of Iowa physicians -- one a psychiatrist, the other a radiologist -- pored over his letters, books, and diaries and concluded that it added up to panic disorder. It's not surprising for academic institutions to come up with a holistic approach in helping students reach their full potential. So from getting an ESA to encouraging parents to get an online tutor, these professionals will do whatever they can to bring out their students' potential.
- Darwin was a worrier, author Claudia Kalb wrote in a 2016 book. “He fretted about his children, about his work, about his deadlines, about his reputation and, almost always, about what ailed him.”
- Darwin was a busy man and it's impossible not to marvel at the possibilities and what more he could have contributed to Science if he had access to ways of keeping his episodes in check. Just imagine if he had an emotional support animal with him at all times; maybe his days would have been more productive than they already were.
- Darwin’s mother frequently suffered from headaches and intestinal distress, and died from an abdominal infection when her son was eight years old. Studies have shown that the loss of a parent early in life can increase the risks of depression and anxiety later in life.
Makes you wonder if having an ESA would have made a huge difference with how he navigated this world. It's also comforting to know that people now have access to this service, which should have prevented sad stories like this.