Using Cash to Treat Mood Disorders

In Abnormal Psychology, we’re studying mood disorders this week. Mind Hacks pointed me to a parody article on the efficacy of cash payments in treating mood disorders. See, psychologists do senses of humor!

Bonkers Institute: Cash Efficacy :

Psychiatric medications relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety by restoring chemical balance within the brain, but exactly how these drugs restore the brain’s chemical balance while simultaneously wreaking havoc on every other organ in the body remains a mystery. Equally mysterious is the mechanism by which cash payments provide therapeutic benefit to depressed and anxious patients. The receipt of a large sum of money may somehow stimulate, increase, block, adjust or otherwise act upon the level, supply, transmission, inhibition, secretion or excretion of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, gamma aminobutyric acid or some other chemical yet to be discovered.

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Dana C. Leighton, Ph.D.

I am a social psychologist, broadly interested in the psychological basis of peace and conflict. I am working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a Program Analyst, leading our survey research to better understand how our disaster response is promoting equity in service delivery, workforce readiness, and recovery and mitigation efforts.

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