{"id":127,"date":"2018-07-09T22:18:50","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T22:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/?p=127"},"modified":"2018-07-09T22:18:50","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T22:18:50","slug":"your-brain-on-scarcity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/ageofanxiety\/2018\/07\/your-brain-on-scarcity.html","title":{"rendered":"Your Brain on Scarcity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"brain\"Don’t Believe Everything You Think<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 (Part 1 of 3)<\/p>\n

In 1944, as World War II raged and millions of people did not have enough to eat, researchers at the University of Minnesota began a study on the impact of starvation.\u00a0 Conscientious objectors volunteered to live in a dorm for a year and eat only what they were served. As the participants got thinner and thinner, their thoughts became increasingly focused on food.\u00a0 They cut recipes out of magazines and talked about meals they wanted to eat (you wrote \u2018not eat\u2019- did you mean would eat? If so, I\u2019d say \u2018wanted to eat\u2019).\u00a0 By the end of the experiment their thoughts were completely hijacked by what they did not have.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since then, research has revealed the unexpected ways scarcity changes behavior. Not only do unmet needs occupy our thoughts, but they usurp the ability to make good decisions.\u00a0 Long-term plans and goals fly out the window. Warning signs are missed.\u00a0 The brain loses some of its capacity for rational thought.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Judge Less, Forgive More<\/u><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a society, we are unforgiving when people get stuck in scarcity situations. Why doesn\u2019t that person in debt get a better job or follow a budget?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t she know that borrowing\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0money at high interest would make things worse? It is easy when you have enough to imagine what someone without should do. Your brain has not been commandeered by lack. What you may not see clearly are the areas where scarcity has taken over your brain. Perhaps it is a paucity of time, inadequate purpose or a shortage of friends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Loneliness and exhaustion are also manifestations of scarcity. They can impair your judgement and leave you behaving in ways that perpetuate the feeling of emptiness. A desperate need for companionship may cause you to behave in ways that send others running or maybe you will self-medicate tiredness with drugs that cause more problems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether our poverty is real (we don\u2019t have friends or money) or imagined (we don\u2019t have enough friends or money compared to others), the brain hijack is the same. We want to be empathetic to others in the same situation and with ourselves. The next time you think, why doesn\u2019t Jane just dump that loser? Or closer to home, why can\u2019t I make more friends? Consider how scarcity may be at play.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2018\/04\/02\/598119170\/the-scarcity-trap-why-we-keep-digging-when-were-stuck-in-a-hole<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don’t Believe Everything You Think\u00a0\u00a0 (Part 1 of 3) In 1944, as World War II raged and millions of people did not have enough to eat, researchers at the University of Minnesota began a study on the impact of starvation.\u00a0 Conscientious objectors volunteered to live in a dorm for a year and eat only what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":619,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nYour Brain on Scarcity - Serenity in an Age of Anxiety<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Don't Believe Everything You Think: Research has revealed the unexpected ways scarcity changes behavior. 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