Jonah Lehrer reports on a new study on the effects of stress. This makes intuitive sense to me:
[C]hronic stress reduces cellular plasticity (including neurogenesis) which might make us (and mice) more likely to settle into familiar ruts and routines. The end result is that people stick with the very behaviors that created the stress in the first place.
So if you ever feel frustrated with yourself for repeating bad habits, you may be contributing to that tricky little feedback loop. Compassion may be a way out.
Hat tip Andrew Sullivan’s blog
