Study: Your Brain Thinks Money Is A Drug Options

[superstitious]

If you've ever thought of money as a drug, you may be more right than you know. New research shows that counting money — just handling the bills — can make things less painful.

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I listen to NPR almost all day long. This particular story really peaked my interest. I know so many people who are worried about finances, myself included. I never thought that the actual handling of money would calm me down. I'm ashamed to admit that I felt a little calmer after seeing a few dollar bills in my wallet.

I can understand the idea of financial security giving one a sense of calm, but the actual physical touching having an near immediate effect is interesting, but also alarming, in my opinion.

Researcher Xinyue Zhou, of the department of psychology at Sun Yat-Sen University in China, puts it in very human terms. "We think money works as a substitute for another pain buffer — love.

Perhaps The Beatles had it all wrong when they said, "Money Can't Buy Me Love."

[Teesa]

^lol

i'm always skeptical about studies like these. i read through the comments that people posted, and this is exactly what i was thinking:

"I believe there is evidence that links preoccupation of thought to pain sensitivity. With that in mind, how much thought does plain paper stimulate? My guess is that something more thought stimulating than plain paper (for example exotic vacation pictures, proverbs, or pornography) would produce similar results to the money. In which case, the researchers have proved only that boredom is painful."

and i think money also has something to do with food. like food releases endorphins and whatnot and makes us happier, so money may act like that too and help numb pain. i dunno.