Emotional Scurvy: A Deficiency Of Relational Nutrition ByJim Winston Jr., Ph.D.
Jim Winston Jr., Founder of the Winston Family Initiative, psychologist and philanthropist with decades of experience in addiction research.
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Everyone knows that without vitamin C, the human body develops scurvy, a breakdown of the connective tissues that hold us together. Yet history reminds us that symptom recognition often precedes the discovery of underlying causes. The ancient Greeks described the wasting, bleeding gums and lethargy of scurvy more than two millennia before Albert Szent-Györgyi and Charles Glen King isolated ascorbic acid in 1932.
For centuries, sailors and explorers suffered and died not from mysterious illnesses but from deficiencies whose causes had yet to be scientifically understood. This pattern—that causality lags behind symptom awareness—recurs throughout human history. We recognize suffering long before we comprehend its origins.
Relational Nourishment
Today, neuroscientific research increasingly supports the idea that the developing brain is as dependent on relational nourishment as the body is on physical nutrients. Just as cells require vitamin C to synthesize collagen, the developing brain requires consistent, face-to-face, attuned human interaction to build the neural “connective tissue” that supports emotional regulation and resilience.
Early and ongoing experiences of limbic resonance—the process through which a caregiver’s gaze, tone and expression mirror a child’s inner world—stimulate and strengthen neural networks in regions like the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate and mirror neuron systems. Eye contact, touch and the subtleties of voice tone transmit massive amounts of emotional information, stimulating the release of oxytocin, reducing stress and regulating the autonomic nervous system.
This dynamic and ongoing attachment relationship—rich in sensory and emotional “nutrition”—is essential for wiring the developing brain for empathy, trust and emotional stability. These moments of shared emotional presence also form the scaffolding for self-awareness and stress modulation, laying the foundation for lifelong mental health and resilience.
The Digital Disconnect
Against this backdrop, the past 15 years have introduced a profound environmental shift. With the advent of the portable smartphone, the locus of attachment has moved from direct, sensory and relational experiences to digitally mediated ones. The average adolescent now spends approximately eight hours a day engaging with a screen rather than in embodied human presence.
When authentic connection is replaced by digital substitutes—scrolling, toggling and messaging—the brain receives neither the sensory nor emotional feedback it fundamentally requires. The result, reflected in the marked rise of depression, anxiety, loneliness and suicidal ideation, represents the brain’s response to deprivation: an emotional and energetic deficiency disease emerging from chronic undernourishment of relational ingredients.It is within this context that I am increasingly convinced that the widespread capture of human attention by digital devices functions in a way strikingly similar to the conditions that once produced scurvy: it deprives the developing brain of an essential form of nutrition, the relational equivalent of Vitamin C.
As sustained, immersive engagement with screens displaces the face-to-face exchanges that regulate and fortify the nervous system, the result is not merely a cultural evolution but a profound biological deficit. Just as early physicians documented the outward signs of scurvy without knowing the underlying depletion, we are witnessing a parallel constellation of emotional symptoms, reflected in the Surgeon General’s warning, without fully understanding their etiology. These signals may not reflect inherent pathology in young people but rather the brain’s alarm response to a chronic shortage of the relational ingredients it requires, even if our scientific frameworks have not yet fully named the deficiency.
Neuroimaging studies deepen this picture, showing that social deprivation and diminished face-to-face interaction produce measurable impairments in the neural networks responsible for empathy, motivation and self-regulation. Over time, this chronic lack of co-regulation and relational attunement leaves young people neurologically undernourished, unable to process and integrate the full spectrum of emotional experience.
This is especially concerning during adolescence—a profoundly sensitive developmental period, roughly between ages 9 and 15, characterized by rapid synaptic pruning and myelination that strengthen frequently used pathways while eliminating unused ones.
If an adolescent spends eight hours a day attaching through a screen, the neural “highways” being paved reflect that reality. In this light, the mental health crisis of the digital age may be understood as a new form of emotional scurvy—a biological alarm signaling a deficiency in the relational nutrients required for human flourishing.
The implications extend beyond individual well-being into the very fabric of society, with acute manifestations in classrooms and even boardrooms. Skills that have historically depended on relational attunement, such as collaboration, empathy, conflict resolution and the nuanced understanding of human behavior, risk underdevelopment. The emotional scurvy of adolescence does not simply forecast a cultural challenge but signals a potential recalibration of everything from academic achievement to workforce readiness, underscoring the urgency of reintegrating authentic human connection into daily life.
Restoring Relational Nutrition
If we accept that the developing brain requires relational nourishment as essential as any nutritional plan, then the remedies must align with our ancient neural architecture rather than fight against modern convenience. For those with leadership responsibilities, this means deliberately reconstructing the environmental conditions under which human brains evolved to flourish: spaces that allow uninterrupted interaction, collaborative problem-solving and moments of shared attention that require full-body, multisensory engagement.
Practically speaking, cultures that prioritize focused in-person collaboration over constant digital check-ins and create spaces for meaningful conversation and mentorship will build stronger bonds and enhance satisfaction and material outcomes for all. Often referred to as the "proximity premium," research confirms that groups that share physical space are better at innovation, complex problem-solving and trust-building. We would do well to heed the science and pay attention to the gathering storm, particularly as this new generation comes of age and enters the workforce.
These are not nostalgic returns to a pre-digital past but evidence-based interventions that acknowledge a fundamental truth: The human brain, shaped over thousands of years, still requires what it has always required—the felt presence of other nervous systems, close enough to touch, attuned enough to regulate, consistent enough to build trust. The question is not whether we can have technology but whether we can subordinate it to biological necessity rather than allow it to eclipse the relational experiences that make us human and drive our personal, social and economic success.
