Mind Moves Marie Murray'Affluenza" is characterised by a dysfunctional relationship with money and an obsessive, compulsive pursuit of wealth. Its primary symptom is an insatiable desire for possessions, shopaholicism being one manifestation. This thirst for things is never quenched, and by its nature it cannot be.
Like most addictions, the activity creates the craving and the craving causes the activity, so the compulsion is recreated in every attempt to satisfy it. This does not make for a happy life.
Of course, not all who are wealthy suffer from affluenza. Healthy wealth is discernible by its invisibility, lack of ostentation, understatement and gentle generosity. It shows appreciation of privilege, appropriate and philanthropic use of the possibilities that money and power can confer, and altruistic awareness of others. It is savoured, enjoyed, well-earned and well-used: the talent returned.
Affluenza is different. There is a frenetic aspect to it and it takes a variety of forms. Sufferers are often not aware of their condition or that the dissatisfaction they feel is due to a pathological dependence on possessions. They do not know that they measure their worth by what they have, not who they are.
The temporary "up" that a binge of buying brings is followed by the terrible, post-excess "down" that sends them out again in pursuit of the impossible. There is a fear of reversal of fortune, for what occupations, interests, activities or pursuits would replace purchasing? How would the ache of anxiety be alleviated if the adrenalin rush of acquisition was taken away?
Persistent purchasing may not cause practical problems for affluenza sufferers who are extremely wealthy, but it does for those who find that their shopaholicism leads them into debt.
Ironically, sufferers of affluenza, if they have managed to achieve significant wealth, may be the envy of other people and appear to be complete and content, without anyone observing the tyranny of acquisition that underlies their lives.
It is also difficult for sufferers to realise that they have been contaminated. The condition is contagious and currently there are reports that large numbers of the Irish population are infected. When contagion cannot be contained, then ill-health becomes the norm.
Extreme strains of affluenza are seen in the compulsive accumulation of assets, notably property, in more than one country. This is a particularly virulent Irish strain of the disease, evident in rapacious property speculation in any location where gross asset appreciation is possible.
The co-morbidity of the condition with this avaricious Irish version hurts other people. Plundering overseas properties before the local population have time to acquire the wherewithal to buy their own inheritance is one of the more insidious manifestations of Irish affluenza. The rationale is that investment brings prosperity to poverty. But to whom the prosperity and to whom the poverty, when prices become prohibitive for those who simply want somewhere to live?
The epidemiologists, whose role it is to identify, classify and search for the risk factors and causes of new infectious diseases, identify a number of underlying causes of affluenza. Among them is postcolonial fear of poverty, oppression or dependence. The dispossessed can never have enough possessions to reassure them that they will not be poor again. There is also a backlash against the miserly misery of pre-prosperity. Furthermore, the demise of religious belief implies that "this is it", so grab what you can.
Inferiority is another factor. Problems of self-worth and deep-seated feelings of inadequacy also drive people into acquiring the externals of success, while the internal psyche continues to chant 'failure, failure, no good, no good'.
Signs and symptoms of affluenza also include low frustration tolerance, preoccupation with external appearance, grandiose belief in personal entitlement, and inability to delay gratification. Impulsiveness, distrust and fear, in addition to intrusive thoughts and a desire to own everything are common. New purchases neutralise or defer the discomfort of longing, but only temporarily.
The addictive aspects of shopaholicism include unsuccessful attempts to control shopping and progressive tolerance to more extravagant purchases as it takes greater bouts of buying to achieve the desired psychological effect. There is also increased dissatisfaction with life. Withdrawal is difficult and the relentless visual displays of goods and services make it difficult for suffers to achieve control over their lives.
Like most psychological problems, there is a continuum from normality to problematic to pathological. This makes it harder for addicts to realise they have a problem. Insatiable shopping can be hard to differentiate from the milder forms in non-sufferers who occasionally engage in bouts of retail therapy. Young women are particularly vulnerable to contagion and addiction is swift when plastic, rather than cash, is used.
Others, who do not achieve wealth at a level that allows shopaholicism without falling into debt, have the dual difficulty of a compulsion and its consequences. This causes social embarrassment and financial ruin when the debt collector catches up with them. But that is the subject of next week's article: the danger of debt to mental health and happiness.
Marie Murray is director of psychology at St Vincent's Hospital, Fairview. mmurray@irish-times.ie