Zayn Malik’s anxiety seems to have been displayed publicly in certain symptoms. Recent photos and video clips of Zayn, especially the ones taken during New York Fashion Week, seemed to show a pronounced forward leaning and forward head posture.
Zayn Malik’s recent quotes have included a high percentage of negative emotion words, even when he was obviously trying to be positive. The Inquisitr has a detailed description of Zayn’s recent negative speech patterns.
Panic, anxiety, and depression often manifest in the form of poor posture. In addition, forward head posture has become far more prevalent in recent years due to cell phone usage, according to Dr. Axe.
Notice Zayn Malik’s posture in the videos below. His forward leaning at times makes sense, such as when he leans forward to hug or when he is getting in the car, but even when there is no apparent cause to lean forward he just holds his upper body at a forward angle with his head forward.
Could Zayn Malik’s anxiety be related to his change in posture? While many people have poor posture and suffer no ill effects, those who are prone to anxiety will worsen considerably with forward head posture and slumping. Further, these moods can be corrected with improved posture, according to a report by Dr. Axe .
“Researchers concluded that good posture in the face of stress maintains self-esteem, improves mood, increases rate of speech and reduces self-focus. Meanwhile, poor posture actually resulted in more stress, potentially leading to chronic stress.”
Zayn Malik’s posture and word choices, some say, are symptomatic of anxiety and depression. At the same time, these postures only intensify stress and anxiety. According to Pain and Anxiety , those who suffer from high anxiety can be profoundly impacted by poor posture.
“If a person with high anxiety also suffers with incorrect posture, this can have a profound effect on the intensity of their anxiety symptoms.”
Zayn Malik’s anxiety and the posture he has adopted could be causing his negative word choices. In 2015, Health Psychology: The Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology published a study in which 75 people were selected randomly and strapped into chairs in forced postures. Some participants were strapped into a slumped posture, while others were strapped into an upright position. Dr. Axe cites a fascinating finding from the scientific study.
“The upright participants reported higher self-esteem, more arousal, better mood, and lower fear, compared to slumped participants. In addition, those sitting in a slumped position used more negative emotion words, first-person singular pronouns, affective process words, sadness words, and fewer positive emotion words and total words during the speech.”
Zayn Malik’s anxiety is not just intensified by his posture; that forward leaning posture alone could possibly cause the types of negative emotion word choices that Zayn is using. These kinds of word choices result in Zayn being misunderstood in the media.
Why do panic, anxiety, and depression cause these kinds of postures? Panic and Anxiety explains that these postures are related to feelings of being guarded. Just as some animals, like hedgehogs, roll into a ball when frightened, people tend to do the same thing, especially in cases of social anxiety, where a violent physical response is out of place, yet the individual feels anxious.
“We too tend to sit with our arms crossed, our legs tucked tightly to our bodies and our shoulders and torso rolled at the waist when we are anxious or depressed. This posture is achieved totally subconsciously but is seriously unhealthy; it compresses internal organs including the heart and lungs and it inhibits good circulation and causes muscle, tendon and nerve pain.”
Zayn Malik is not alone. Many people experience these types of posture related symptoms. The postures associated with anxiety, panic, and depression only intensify the anxiety. They lead to poor word choices that get people labeled negatively.
Zayn Malik has been accused of “slamming” this and “criticizing” that in the media. Yet when one really takes the time to read the quotes, it is clear that, although sometimes Malik uses negative words when positive ones would work as well or better to describe the situation he means to explain, he isn’t actually “slamming” anyone.
RELATED REPORTS BY THE INQUISITR
Zayn Malik Talks Gigi Hadid, One Direction & Anxiety, Takes Harry Styles As Role Model
Zayn Malik’s Anxiety Is Extreme: Gigi Hadid Continues Being Supportive
What Zayn Malik really says is not insulting to anyone in specific, but rather could be summed up by saying he frequently uses unusually negative words that seem out of place within the context of what he is actually saying. This is especially true when Malik is describing something he personally has felt or experienced.
Posture seems like a pretty simple solution to a complex problem. Yet that prescription is ancient. For how many generations have parents told their offspring to stand up straight?
Zayn Malik is suffering, and his problems seem very complicated. Could this simple behavioral change of forcing himself to stand up straight be an effective step in improvement?
Could Zayn Malik’s stress, panic, and anxiety be treated by methods of consciously adopting better posture?
[Featured Image byJamie McCarthy/Getty Images]