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Well, yes there is. Actually it can be quite a
large downside that is the beginning of a chain with the power to bring
sleeplessness, anxiety and depression. Let’s take a step back. Did you follow
the events of Black Friday, the day of pure consumerism and materialism that
welcomes the American Thanks Giving holiday? I was struck by a short interview
with a man in London holding onto his very wide screen television with the grip
of Samson himself. He was asked why he had struggled so hard to secure the
discount booty. His response was telling. Said through a laugh he admitted he
had no idea. His family had wide screen televisions in all their rooms. Then he
paused and said: ‘I guess because there was a queue and it was so cheap. I had
to get it no matter what’.
Research shows that whilst we continue to chase
these seemingly pointless materialistic conquests no concurrent benefits have
been found for our sense of well-being. In fact the reverse may well be the
truth. A never ending pursuit of ‘things’ we do not need, that clutter up our
lives and deliver only short periods of pleasure, feeds a sense of
disappointment. An objective that always remains out of reach to buy our way
happy. Whilst materialism can drive us to mental unhappiness it can also hide
low self-esteem and a lack of self-worth. We seek solutions to these in the
ring of tills with little hope of success.
Next time you are confronted by a seemingly
irresistible bargain consider this: what is my reason for buying it? Pleasure,
need, the joy of giving or something else? If we can understand that we are one
small step closer to the mental health we deserve.
This article first appeared in Gallery Magazine.