RESE A RCH + THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH
THE NEED FOR CONNECTION
The rat park experiment One of the ways this understanding of addiction evolved was the famous study in the 1980s of rats in a cage . Given a choice between water laced with drugs , or pure water , most often , the rats chose the drugs . They eventually became addicted , consuming the drugs repeatedly until they died . Bruce Alexander , a professor of Psychology in Vancouver , noted that perhaps the rats resorted to the drug because they are all alone in the cage with no stimulation . He put the rats in cages with other rats , toys , tunnels , and food , and noted that rats in a social situation will react differently . Some of these rats tried both types of water , but they didn ’ t become heavy users of the drug - laced water . And none of them died . Alexander carried out additional studies with rats and discovered that if he took solitary , drug - addicted rats and placed them in a cage with other rats and social stimulation , they no longer heavily used the drug - laced water .
In today’s society, stress and change often are thought of as the same thing. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to situations the body and mind find to be overwhelming. We often ask ourselves how we should manage stress. There are many ways people manage stress and reduce the overall stress of day-to-day activities. With the fast pace of work and home, and being constantly inundated with technology and still wanting to have time to connect with those around us, our lives can feel overwhelming and stressful at times. Read in full here from The Mayo Clnic
Read in full here
QUOTATION
"“ What comes naturally to me ? For just a moment , ignore what you have been taught . Ignore what society has told you . Ignore what others expect of you . Look inside yourself and ask , “ What feels natural to me ? When have I felt alive ? When have I felt like the real me ?” No internal judgments or people - pleasing . No second - guessing or self - criticism . Just feelings of engagement and enjoyment . Whenever you feel authentic and genuine , you are headed in the right direction .”
- James Clear -
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker