You buy it. You get home and have that high. It feels so good. But it doesn't last. You want to get more, more. You crave that feeling, that ecstasy, that euphoria. Sound familiar?
Many people who have fallen into this hole of materialism have likened their situation to being addicted to drugs. “I too am a shopaholic, sales especially …what a bargain…no it isn’t. They sit in the wardrobe, and it gets fuller and fuller, I end up wearing the same half dozen pieces, because I can’t find other things amongst the overloaded hangers. When I decide to find something else, I come across things I’d forgotten I bought. The guilt is horrendous, but I continue to do it. Is there something that can be done to that part of the brain to stop it? Clearly I understand drug addicts, because clothes shopping is a drug for me” (Lee and Ahn 35). They get a feeling of ecstasy or happiness when they buy something, but shortly after that feeling goes away. They then crave that feeling more and more, buying more and more, always looking for that feeling of satisfaction, hoping it will last, but knowing it will not. Dr. Aric Rindfleisch states in an article on Illinois News Bureau, “Soon after purchasing something, there is a reduction of anxiety. But it doesn't last very long. It's fleeting. Materialists seek that as one of their coping mechanisms”. There are other studies that show that effect as well. Using shopping as a coping method is a costly and mostly ineffective tactic. It gives short lived satisfaction, but leads to ruin in the long run.
In the next articles, I will discuss how to get out of the pit of materialism.
Works Cited
Lee, Michael S. W., and Christie Seo Youn Ahn. “Anti-Consumption, Materialism, and Consumer Well-Being.” J Consum Aff Journal of Consumer Affairs, vol. 50, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 18–47. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO], doi:10.1111/joca.12089.
Ciciora, Phil. “Materialism Makes Bad Events Even Worse.” News Bureau | ILLINOIS, Aric Rindfleisch, 25 Nov. 2013, news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/204691.
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