Materialism fueling depression

[rob_just_rob]

I already have enough stuff. I seldom buy luxury items for myself... because where would I put them?

 

[SilverTrain]

“The things you own, end up owning you”
- Tyler Durden

Pretty much sums it up

I'm a fan of the film (haven't read the book--not sure if the line exists therein). And I agree the quoted catch-phrase has that nifty immediate appeal. But if I think about it for a few seconds, I realize I find it a woefully incomplete and unsubstantiated sentiment.

In short, the things I own do not own me.

As to the OP question, I would certainly agree that materialism could be a contributory factor re depression.

 

[SprinkleMe69]

I feel obligated to buy things for family. But really that's just me putting pressure on myself.

 

[D_Bob_Crotchitch]

How you celebrate it is up to you. I am the one who changed how things were celebrated in our family. I just told them many months ahead what I was going to do. If you don't like buying for tons of people, draw names. We all have more than we need, and just don't want to do it anymore.
My dad, sister, sister-in-law, and bro become total psychos when gifts are involved. They do their best to destroy peeps emotionally because they feel threatened. Basically, they have been assholes all year, and are afraid they'll get what they deserve.

 

[BIGBULL29]

I find materialism and excess bad in general. I like to be comfortable, with a roof over my head - but, I don't need or desire a mansion that will require effort to maintain. I'm not against money, but I don't like the stranglehold it puts on people. Let's pretend I own that mansion. To leave me with some free-time, I decide to hire a cleaner. That means more expense, forcing me to keep earning money. Then, I find the need to buy things just to fill the never-used, empty rooms of my mansion. Others see my wealth and judge me if I'm not using all the latest technology and wearing the latest fashion. All this cost brings me stress and as a result, I become depressed. At the other end of the spectrum, the poor can hardly afford to eat while I sit watching TV - it's not fair. My cleaner works harder than me (in physical terms) and still struggles to feed her family on the wages I pay. I can't afford to pay them more because I have a mansion to pay for. Constantly living on the financial edge, depression is constantly knocking at the door of that cleaner - all because of money and the basic need for it. If I had bought a smaller home, I could pay them more and we would all be happy. It's a pain.

I'm forced to keep spending my money on basic things because of the greed of others. I don't have a phone (mobile or otherwise) - I like the peace it gives me. (The cost isn't nice, either.) But, if ever I wish to open a bank account or whatever, not having a phone looks insane to them. It's a fairly trivial example, but I've known people who (like me) have decided that having a phone isn't for them, only to be dragged back into using them because of the extra effort required to open that bank account etc. You're not allowed to be yourself and that is with a simple non-excessive item like a phone. Everyone else has a phone, so you need a phone. It is a trivial example, but you get the idea. Reading this back, some of it is only half-related to depression. Excuse my inability to stop typing. :tongue:

Yes, the more we have, the more complicated our lives become, and thus it leads to more suffering. How can that be healthy for the soul?

I really dislike Christmas for this reason, but I find it more ugly than depressing. All the cheap crap on display, the ruthless and relentless marketing, the manipulation of cheap sentimentality to get people to spend -- Christmas it the ugliest time of year to me when all the worst aspects of our society are ampted upon by several degrees.

Absolutely! Christmas brings out the worst in society, and not just in terms of greed, either. We pretend to have warm and fuzzy feelings for people that we could really care less about the rest of the year. That is what I would call disingenuity at its finest. Also, the holiday season makes people psychologically unstable as one is forced to have these "fuzzy" emotions, leading people to miss their estranged family or loved ones who've passed on; all of which being so unnecessarily cruel. And, then, there are the feelings of contempt that come about when families cannot buy what other families can or "seemingly" can afford.

 

[paigexox]

Most of my material shit makes me very happy. I own what some might call a "materialistic car", but it puts a smile on my face every day I drive it.

I often dress in a way that isn't required by my surroundings or wear jewelry that's on the expensive side, but again, these are material things *I* appreciate and they make me happy.

I don't find that I fret over whether or not I can afford certain things or worry about updated purchases for the latest trend. Rather, I view it as a challenge and extract a drive for success from it. I want to aspire to a certain comfortability of lifestyle, and so I pursue a path that will afford me the luxury whilst not crippling any other domain of my life.

 

[LaFemme]

In short, the things I own do not own me.

As to the OP question, I would certainly agree that materialism could be a contributory factor re depression.

I agree. My things do not own me. I am not materialistic, but nor am I minimalist. When I buy something, I buy well. I don't put pressure on myself to collect things I don't need although, I might indulge myself on occasion, but I prefer to spend money on experiences like travel etc.

And it may be unpopular, but I love Christmas. I love the entire experience. We draw names for adults and everyone is free to buy for the kids. Christmas is an excuse for me to shower my loved ones with the experience of Christmas. It's about food and being together. I love cooking for my family and making sure that each person has something they love to eat on the table. Christmas is a tradition and ritual that pulls our family together. It's not about presents, but about love in our family. And the kids know it too. For my family, the expectations are realistic and we could have a wonderful Christmas even if there were no presents and we had to eat a bucket of KFC.

 

[nudeyorker]

I've learned some valuable lessons in life... when I was a young child our house burned to the ground and everything inside was destroyed. My mother told my brother and I that they are just things that can be replaced.

Later in life almost everything I owned got destroyed in a hurricane and my friends and I were thankful that we were all alive and safe.

I got held up once and a I lost my wallet and watch and some jewelry and when it was all over I was so thankful I was not hurt or killed.

But I like nice stuff and will continue to buy things that make me happy and comfortable. But it's just stuff and won't make any difference when you are dead and gone; the lasting impressions we leave with our friends and loved ones are the things that really matter. I hope people will remember me and the nice times they had at my house and not the things in it.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Most of my material shit makes me very happy. I own what some might call a "materialistic car", but it puts a smile on my face every day I drive it.

I often dress in a way that isn't required by my surroundings or wear jewelry that's on the expensive side, but again, these are material things *I* appreciate and they make me happy.

I don't find that I fret over whether or not I can afford certain things or worry about updated purchases for the latest trend. Rather, I view it as a challenge and extract a drive for success from it. I want to aspire to a certain comfortability of lifestyle, and so I pursue a path that will afford me the luxury whilst not crippling any other domain of my life.

You'd fit right in here.

 

[B_jeepguy2]

I am so into materialism that I have an 18 yr old truck, and my cell phone still has an antenna. Oooo my tv has a picture tube.

The Smithsonian just called me. They want my jock strap for an exhibit. It is so old, it was the second one Bike ever produced.

Pretty much the same here. I have a 10 year old tracphone, a 20 year old TV, a 6 year old car, and a 22 year old SUV that I paid cash for. I buy most of my clothes at thrift stores. I live in a woefully outdated 1960s ranch house that I inherited (so no mortgage) I have never had a car loan, and I pay my credit card off every month.

My neighbors are working their asses off to pay for their big houses with hot tubs, granite and stainless in the kitchen, BMWs, Plasma TVs, and I haven't had a job in two years. Don't really need one. anymore.

I am pretty sure my hardworking neighbors think I am a perpetually unemployed bum but they have no clue that I have an investment portfolio that is worth millions amassed by buying dividend paying stocks with all the money that I didn't spend on stuff that I didn't need and not paying any interest to banks and credit card companies over the past 20 years.

 

[B_Hickboy]

I learned some valuable lessons in life... when I was a young child our house burned to the ground and everything inside was destroyed. My mother told my brother and I that they are just things that can be replaced.

Later in life almost everything I owned got destroyed in a hurricane and my friends and I were thankful that we were all alive and safe.

I got held up once and a I lost my wallet and watch and some jewelry and when it was all over I was so thankful I was not hurt or killed.

But I like nice stuff and will continue to buy things that make me happy and comfortable. But it's just stuff and won't make any difference when you are dead and gone; the lasting impressions we leave with our friends and loved ones are the things that really matter. I hope people will remember me and the nice times they had at my house and not the things in it.

Amen, brother.

 

[SilverTrain]

And it may be unpopular, but I love Christmas. I love the entire experience. We draw names for adults and everyone is free to buy for the kids. Christmas is an excuse for me to shower my loved ones with the experience of Christmas. It's about food and being together. I love cooking for my family and making sure that each person has something they love to eat on the table. Christmas is a tradition and ritual that pulls our family together. It's not about presents, but about love in our family. And the kids know it too. For my family, the expectations are realistic and we could have a wonderful Christmas even if there were no presents and we had to eat a bucket of KFC.

You've described my family's Christmas experiences to "T". While I find it sad that so many find Christmas to be merely a cynical exercise in consumerism, I would argue that that reflects much moreso on themselves than it does Christmas. Possibly, they've not had a positive familial tradition vis a vis Christmas (as described by Hickboy, above) and in those circumstances it's understandable that a person would not cherish the holiday and all its traditions, rituals, effects, etc. But to just point to consumerism as a blanket damnation of Christmas is to make a fallacious argument. In any event, I too love Christmas (dear Bbucko, I even love (some of) the songs! :tongue. And I couldn't have described my love any better than La Femme.

 

[vince]

I got rid of a 4000 sq ft house and 95 percent of the shit in it 10 years ago. I Put what remained in a 10 x 10 x 10 foot storage box and took off for a few years.

I make my living building the ultimate materialistic symbols of excess and greed. My customers are all one percenters. I am a parasite sucking at the tit of their materialistic excesses. Maybe my revulsion of their excessive consumption and mental illness, is one reason I have very few possessions myself.

The new house is large, but completely uncluttered. The only material things that have importance for me are a few heirlooms, my hand tools and an art collection.

 

[LaFemme]

You've described my family's Christmas experiences to "T". While I find it sad that so many find Christmas to be merely a cynical exercise in consumerism, I would argue that that reflects much moreso on themselves than it does Christmas. Possibly, they've not had a positive familial tradition vis a vis Christmas (as described by Hickboy, above) and in those circumstances it's understandable that a person would not cherish the holiday and all its traditions, rituals, effects, etc. But to just point to consumerism as a blanket damnation of Christmas is to make a fallacious argument. In any event, I too love Christmas (dear Bbucko, I even love (some of) the songs! :tongue. And I couldn't have described my love any better than La Femme.

See how much we have in common? :kiss:

 

[B_Marius567]

I will give eveything up for a soulmate.

I am buying alot of highend tools at one 40.00 tool a week.

 

[SilverTrain]

See how much we have in common? :kiss:

Hmm, Christmas love, friskiness, big round sex organs......

Come on over here under the mistletoe!

 

[B_jeepguy2]

I got rid of a 4000 sq ft house and 95 percent of the shit in it 10 years ago. I Put what remained in a 10 x 10 x 10 foot storage box and took off for a few years.

I make my living building the ultimate materialistic symbols of excess and greed. My customers are all one percenters. I am a parasite sucking at the tit of their materialistic excesses. Maybe my revulsion of their excessive consumption and mental illness, is one reason I have very few possessions myself.

The new house is large, but completely uncluttered. The only material things that have importance for me are a few heirlooms, my hand tools and an art collection.

I have a 1800 square ft. house and the living room, dining room, and two of bedrooms never and a bathroom stay closed off and never get used unless my family comes to visit. It is way more space than I need yet I know plenty of single people who live in 4,000+ square ft. homes.

What are the materialist symbols of excess and greed that you build?

 

[vince]

I have a 1800 square ft. house and the living room, dining room, and two of bedrooms never and a bathroom stay closed off and never get used unless my family comes to visit. It is way more space than I need yet I know plenty of single people who live in 4,000+ square ft. homes.

What are the materialist symbols of excess and greed that you build?

120-150 ft yachts. They have no useful purpose or redeeming qualities other than the jobs that are created. But the owners could use their money to build something more useful and still create employment.

 

[Rikter8]

I feel the need for material things is a by-product of Depression.

You buy stuff to make you happy....but it only works for a little while.
So then you buy more, for that instant gratification of something new....but then it wears off, and the process repeats.

 

[Rikter8]

I will give eveything up for a soulmate.

I am buying alot of highend tools at one 40.00 tool a week.

Tools are never a bad purchase. You can never go wrong with tools.

Don't be afraid to check out the swap meets and estate/garage sales for cheaper options.... Most of my "Specialty" tools I have are expensive when buying retail, but a fraction of the cost at trade shows.

They have already paid for themselves on savings from auto repairs and odd job auto repairs I have done for others.

Something you can use and re-use long term I don't feel is a bad purchase as long as it gets used often. It's the other things we buy that put us in the hole:

Porn..
sex toys...
that brand new Ipad, when your older laptop works fine but just needs a tune up...
Garden Gnomes at Wal-mart
Big Box Mart shit.

Speaking of which...
JibJab - Big Box Mart - YouTube