Similarly, the insight that some behaviors are a form of self-medication, which in the short-term reduces the stress response, also has scientific support. Several studies have shown that smoking can reduce anxiety [30] and produce a sense of well-being [31]. Other studies have shown that overeating or eating of high fat or ‘‘comfort’’ foods can serve as a defense mechanism that attenuates the stress response [32–35]. Ultimately, these behaviors can, of course, have a deleterious impact on health [36], but in a poor community where, like many of the focus group participants, people are more likely to discount the future, these longer term consequences may carry less weight