Does a stressful lifestyle lead to mindless behavior and strip away your ability to lead and achieve goals? Here are some conclusions from a study of rats (h/t Appel) subjected to constant stress:

On the one hand, regions of the brain associated with executive decision-making and goal-directed behaviors had shriveled, while, conversely, brain sectors linked to habit formation had bloomed.

In other words, the rodents were now cognitively predisposed to keep doing the same things over and over, to run laps in the same dead-ended rat race rather than seek a pipeline to greener sewers. “Behaviors become habitual faster in stressed animals than in the controls, and worse, the stressed animals can’t shift back to goal-directed behaviors when that would be the better approach,” Dr. Sousa said. “I call this a vicious circle.”

Chilling. I wonder how many people here in Japan fit this description, and I wonder about myself. How do you get out of a stress rut and recover the ability to focus and decide?

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