Affluenza Breakout Becoming an Epidemic in America

The following are the symptoms of Affluenza with real-world examples:

a. Swollen Expectations - When your wants come before your needs. Mikey needed lunch money for the next day, but he bought a cookie he wanted anyway.

b. Shopping Fever - A constant urge to shop for the sake of shopping. When the misses buys groceries she ends up with twice as many items as there were on the list.

c. Chronic Stress - You focus on caring for things before people. My mom takes care of the little kids all day yet claims she got nothing accomplished.

d. Increase of Materialism - More people (especially kids) want to buy more things. My younger brother wants to buy another $50 game even though we have 13 others he still hasn't finished playing.

e. Increase of Bankruptcies - Families are breaking up trying to live the hectic life of a consumer. A family almost went bankrupt twice after their stock plummeted and our second mortgage.

f. Social Scars - A growing gap between rich and poor. A rich investor may earn more each day, but he is financially equal to his aunt who earns less because of his incresing in debt.

g. Global Infection - The underdeveloped countries suffer because of unequal distribution of wealth. Go to Juarez Mexico where people live in shacks built out of junk that the well-to-do throw away.

Treatments for Affluenza:

a. Value People and Not Money - This is often hard to do when people base how much you love them on how much you buy them.

b. Personal Attitude Adjustments in Terms of Spending - Many people do not save enough money or spend it foolishly.

c. Voluntary Simplicity - Many would be outcasts (socially) just because of simplicity. For example: I saw no need to buy any new pants since they still fit me, but others will judge me because my pant legs supposedly aren't long enough, so of course I bought myself new pants and keep tripping over them.