Greed - A Way of Life or a Trap?

by Richard C. Raynard, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Envy abounds, even in the youngest. A child is so quick to grab a toy from a playmate's hand, without a thought. Squabble, tears and retaliation soon follow.

The playmate's joy in his toys makes them more desirable than his own. Neglected toys are rarely swiped. The emotion of envy grows into "What else am I missing out on?" The attitude forms, "I don't have it because they have it". Envy recruits competition and aggressiveness. In time, with the social ranking in the teens and the feelings of insecurity that envy recruits, greed blossoms. Now our sense of self-worth and importance are on the line. Greed becomes a way of life.

Mine!

Once, a bumper sticker I saw read. "What the Hell, I want it all!".

But, hey, let's face the facts! Many studies show that those who strongly value the pursuit of wealth have more depression, more physical ailments, and more relationship problems. Clinically, there is more OCD,  likelihood of ADHD, isolation, passive-aggression, poor impulse control, and more. Studies also show that, with increasing wealth, a person has less regard for another point of view, i.e. less empathy. The more materialistic, the less generous and trusting we become. Beyond caring for basic needs and comfort, pursuing wealth makes for "lower psychological well-being".

The wealthy do not play with their toys, but store them or display them.

Now and then, we dare talk about greed openly. In the May 18 NY Times, the reviewer of The Great Gatsby, referring also to "Spring Breakers", "The Bling Ring" and other movies, concludes "This is how we live: greedily, enviously, superficially, in a state of endless, self-justifying desire". But the most articulate writers are silent on this subject.

Even more to the point, Edney (2005) declares "It is time that greed be listed in DSM IV. With well directed psychological research of course greed will turn out to be a personality trait with a distribution in the population, and personality tests will be able to screen for extremes." The extreme of greed would be a personality disorder.

Well, what do you think? Do we take the mythology out of greed and treat it? Gratitude, instead of greed?

About Dr. Raynard
Dr. Richard Raynard is a licensed clinical psychologist with 35 years experience resolving a broad range of emotional problems. As a cognitive-behavioral therapist who has specialized in anxiety and phobic disorders since 1980, he has spent the last 35 years fulfilling his life-long desire to explore and define the true purpose of emotions and how people can easily use emotions to create meaning and satisfaction in their lives. Dr. Raynard's series of books on emotions can be found on Amazon.com. His other books include Don't Panic, and Anxiety & Panic Medications.

The Bright Side - A Note from the Future

by Richard C. Raynard, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Imagine you are in the future. The economy has tanked, and things are much worse now.  Unemployment is 26%; 17% of mortgages have foreclosed; inflation is rampant; borrowing is very costly; the bond market has crashed; our currency devalued.  We can no longer borrow to pay down our national debt.  2 Million are homeless.

But, we are learning new ways to prosper and be fulfilled.

Now that families have to crowd into 2 or 3 rooms, we have learned to eat together, discuss our affairs, and help each other.  With the electricity on 6 hours a day, we no longer depend upon electronic devices or spend much time on TV and the media.  We work in our garden, share cooking and cleaning, and do all the repairs ourselves.  With gas at $11 a gallon, we’ve learned to car pool with the neighbors and coworkers and share lunch treats.  We’re discovering local sports, too, like trails, biking, local teams, and pickup games of all sorts. Now that schools have little money, we are no longer under the gun with national testing, and parents have time to help their children learn, plus all the time for sports, arts, music, trips and classroom talks.  Our children see more of themselves in school since we insisted they learn useful things about life and themselves; they like school now. 

In downsizing, we have had to sell off or donate so much excess stuff that we see what is essential and most meaningful and spend more time in that.  In fact, getting by with a lot less work hours has meant a lot to ourselves and each other.  Our community has come together, too, as we not share our skills and tools around cooking, gardening, repairing, per care, heating methods – in fact, about everything. We are learning gratitude.

 

I guess this is more the way it used to be.  More sense of community, opportunity, fairness with each other, good schools, a great family life. We could use a teach-in like this every 80 years or so.

Dr. Schwartz, (The Paradox of Choice, 2004) documents how an overload of choice leads to anxiety, loneliness, stress and dissatisfaction - even depression. The polls show that the feelings that choices do matter has dropped over the years. Why?

He documents how the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment, and the more choices, the more stress and pressure. And once you reach an adequate subsistence income, further wealth shows no increase in measurable happiness. In short, an abundance of choice takes precious time, regret of lost opportunity, more uncertainty, more procrastination, more demanding choices, more risk of being let down, more responsibility, restless greed - more agony!

Paradoxically, the choices that contribute most to happiness bind and commit us passionately to loved ones, friends, work and the spiritual life - and gratitude.

About Dr. Raynard

Dr. Richard Raynard is a licensed clinical psychologist with 35 years experience resolving a broad range of emotional problems. As a cognitive-behavioral therapist who has specialized in anxiety and phobic disorders since 1980, I have spent the last 35 years fulfilling my life-long desire to explore and define the true purpose of emotions and how people can easily use emotions to create meaning and satisfaction in their lives. Dr. Raynard's series of books on emotions can be found on Amazon.com. His other books include Don't Panic, and Anxiety & Panic Medications.

Passing the Butter - An Emotional Vignette

by Richard C. Raynard, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist



"Pass the butter", he grunted.

"It's in front of you", she sputtered,

"Where?", he bellowed.

"Behind the ketchup", she huffed.

"It's usually in the open!" he blasted.
"How open do you want it?", she sniffed.
"How about two feet away?", he sniggered.
"Whose two feet?", she mocked.
"Can't we agree on two feet?, he seethed.
"You could mark it with a pencil!", she scolded.
"Now the butter is melting", he blurted.
"From all your talking!", she belched.
"Just a bit of better butter", he joked.
"You'll find that in the frig", she intoned.
"Where in the frig?", he cracked.
"Behind the ketchup", she teased.
"Why is everything behind the ketchup?", he mumbled.
"So you'll be sure to find it", she smirked.
"Well, there's a point to that", he sighed.
"I look after you anyway I can", she burbled.
"You are so surprising", he fawned.
"You're cute too", she murmured.

                (They agree to try again)

"Honey, please pass the butter", he crooned.
"There you are", she cooed.
"Thank you", he said, blissfully.

               (Nothing seemed to work until they showed affection and gratitude)


About Dr. Raynard
Dr. Richard Raynard is a licensed clinical psychologist with 35 years experience resolving a broad range of emotional problems. As a cognitive-behavioral therapist who has specialized in anxiety and phobic disorders since 1980, he has spent the last 35 years fulfilling his life-long desire to explore and define the true purpose of emotions and how people can easily use emotions to create meaning and satisfaction in their lives. Dr. Raynard's series of books on emotions can be found on Amazon.com. His other books include Don't Panic, and Anxiety & Panic Medications.