In my last post I explored how stress, debt, and environmental destruction seem like obvious implications of consumption. But what if too-much-stuff is also the source of physical illness? John de Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas Naylor brilliantly address this issue in their book Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic in their depiction of consumerism as a disease itself! Their compelling portrayal of material consumption is as a contagious “virus” that infects individuals, creating harmful symptoms while distracting us from the very activities that make us thriving humans, such as rewarding work and meaningful relationships.
While this work is thought provoking and glaringly true based on my personal experience (as a consumer), I was interested to find that “affluenza” has now been described in scientific literature as well. I found reference to the phenomenon in multiple journals including Critical Public Health[i], Journal of Affective Disorders[iii], Global Health Promotion[iv], Journal of Mental Health[v], and even in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.[vi]
Some of this is in direct reference to one aspect of affluenza, which is the excessive consumption of processed food and its contribution to obesity related illness. But there is less predictably a fair amount of literature related to the impact of consumerism on child and adolescent mental health. The consensus seems to be that the increasing relationship between self-validation and material possession is significantly contributing to anxiety and depression, while creating youth with low self-esteem and poor coping skills.
I would generalize that the impact of affluenza on a societal level has been an increasing shift away from an emphasis on acquisition of our fundamental needs towards an insatiable taste for goods that are harmful both in the toxic resources that go into their production and in their impact on our holistic wellness. While it is evident that the evolution of our capacity to attain necessities such as food and shelter has undoubtedly fostered health and greatly increased our life expectancy, it seems that we are now moving backwards once more as we become overworked, overloaded with debt, emotionally drained, and (literally) weighed down by our quest to attain more and more stuff. Stuff, it seems, is making us sick.
In Simple Prosperity, David Wann’s followup to Affluenza, he skillfully demonstrates how affluenza can be overcome through investment in “real wealth sources” such as strong social ties, goals of personal growth, cultural prosperity, and respect for nature. I have to agree with him that curing the disease of over-consumption will lead to richer, and surely healthier, lives.
For a fun, terrifying, and hopeful account of how we got here and where we’re going, please watch Annie Leonard’s inspired “The Story of Stuff.”
[i] Bendelow, G. (2010). Emotional health: Challenging biomedicine or increasing health surveillance? Critical Public Health, 20(4), 465-474.,;Crawshaw, P. (2008). Whither wellbeing for public health? Critical Public Health, 18(3), 259-261.; Petersen, A., Davis, M., Fraser, S., & Lindsay, J. (2010). Healthy living and citizenship: An overview. Critical Public Health, 20(4), 391-400.
[ii] Cooper, C., Bebbington, P., & Livingston, G. (2011). Cognitive impairment and happiness in old people in low and middle income countries: Results from the 10/66 study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 130(1-2), 198-204.
[iii] Hanlon, P., & Carlisle, S. (2009). Is ‘modern culture’ bad for our health and well-being? Global Health Promotion, 16(4), 27-34.
[iv] Spandler, H., & Stickley, T. (2011). No hope without compassion: The importance of compassion in recovery-focused mental health services. Journal of Mental Health, 20(6), 555-566.
[v] Cheng, T. O. (2003). Fast food and obesity in china. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 42(4), 773-773.
[vi] Garland, EJ. (2008). The sad adolescent: A practical approach for recognizing and helping the teen struggling with depression. Speech presented at the Canadian Paediatric Society Annual Conference, Victoria, British Columbia.
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