Shopping Fever
The average North American consumes five times more than a Mexican, ten times more than a Chinese person and 30 times more than a person from India. As De Graaf says, it’s as if we are suffering from some kind of Willpower Deficiency Syndrome, a breakdown in affluenza immunity.

When you’re never satisfied with your stuff but keep shopping anyway, you’ve probably reached the addiction stage. Shopping on this level is almost always to a futile attempt to fill some sort of void.

In 1991, Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan figured that out and sold off three of his homes, 30 antique automobiles and his Detroit Tigers baseball team. He was quoted as saying, “None of the things I’ve bought, and I mean none of them, have ever really made me happy.”

Monaghan got it right. Although people today are, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than our great-grandparents were at the turn of the century, Americans report feeling “significantly less well off” than in 1958. And research from the 1999-2001 World Values Survey suggests that the more consumer goods you have, the more you think you need to make you happy. Happiness through consumption is always out of reach.

One shopping addict admits that when she changes her wardrobe, she is really hoping to change herself - that by putting on a new outfit, she will become a new person.

The truth is that we are the same people no matter what we own. Our belongings don’t define us. Mother Theresa had next to nothing to call her own, and she was clearly defined by who she was and what she did. I don’t know a single person who would dare to say she was worth any less as a person than Bill Gates though their monetary net values were quite different.

The Road to Recovery
Fighting affluenza isn’t about finding bargains, spending less for the same amount of stuff. It’s about consuming less and lessening our dependence on things to make us happy. So before you shop, stop and consider the following:

1) Ask yourself if you can borrow or rent it instead.
2) Wait a week or more before shopping and see if your urge for an item subsides.
3) Make a list and stick to it.
4) Don’t let a sale persuade you to buy what you don’t need.
5) Just before heading to the checkout, see if you can put anything in your cart back.
6) Avoid malls. Every store you walk past will call out to you to come inside and spend your money.

Affluenza is a manifestation of the belief that we can buy happiness with a little bit more. It’s an elusive goal and completely self-centered. Ellie Kay, author of The Debt Diet, suggests shifting your focus off your personal shopping list by donating your time, money and/or extra things around the house. When you find specific needs in your community you can help fill from your own surplus, you’ll make a positive difference and gain a better perspective on want versus need. Another idea is to sponsor a child from a developing country. A few reputable organizations through which you can sponsor children include World Vision, Food for the Hungry and Compassion International.

De Graaf adds a natural remedy for affluenza: fresh air. The stronger your bond with nature, he says, the less money you’ll need, or want, to make. This was certainly the case in the small town of Homer, Alaska, where my husband and I once lived. The community there was so busy in the great outdoors and they were far happier than the “wealthier” people I knew in our prior home base of Washington, D.C.

Let’s face it - we all have to shop. But we don’t need to buy all that we buy. Watch for the symptoms of affluenza in your own life and make sure it doesn’t take over. Remember, just as spending more doesn’t equal more satisfaction, spending less doesn’t mean you’ll be unhappy. Try it and see for yourself. You just might find that less truly is more.