When It Comes To Dealing With Stress & Anxiety, Ritual Is Key

In previous research, assistant professor of anthropology at U.Conn., Dimitris Xygalatas, Ph.D., found that anxiety made people's behavior more ritualized and structured. To take these findings further, his team studied whether performing rituals did anything to affect participants' anxiety in turn.

First, they asked subjects to come up with a natural disaster plan, which induced feelings of anxiety and unease. Then, half the group participated in a religious ritual at a temple while the other half was instructed to sit and relax.

While a little stress here and there is fine, too much of it for too long can take a real toll on one's health. "Beyond a certain threshold, stress ceases to be useful," Xygalatas says in a research report, adding that it can impair cognitive function, weaken the immune system, and lead to hypertension.

As for what makes rituals effective at easing stress before it becomes harmful, Xygalatas says, "the mechanism that we think is operating here is that ritual helps reduce anxiety by providing the brain with a sense of structure, regularity, and predictability."

In other words, if you're doing an activity you're familiar and comfortable with, it sends a signal to the brain that you are safe.