finesse_r
Member
People often talk about addiction as if it were only a physical problem where the body adjusts to some chemical and hurts or aches physically if it is not received, often in increasing doses and certainly on a regular basis. Such addictions as alcohol, nicotine, heroine, Methamphetamine, or cocaine are well documented and most people are familiar with them.
However there are also psychological addictions. Here I am not positive if it is totally psychological or if the event releases chemicals in the brain that are addictive, but either way these things are very addictive to some personalities. Some that come to mind that do not involve a chemical dependency are: Running and the high some runners experience is one. Shopping or buying things is another. Eating is yet another, and for some it is only certain foods like sweets or chocolate. And of course gambling is a big one also.
These psychological addictions result in a temporary feeling of pleasure or joy and a sense of well being, just as do the chemical addictions. Certainly endorphins are released in the brain in a similar manner to many chemical addictions. While these addictions may or may not be detrimental to one’s physical health, they are usually detrimental to one’s psychological health and over all well being.
I have seen more than one family destroyed when one, usually the wife, partner cannot resist buying things, anything on sale or that strikes her fancy. It is not the item she is after so much as the pay off from buying something which is the temporary feeling of well being and happiness. It is not uncommon to see these women with secret credit cards that are maxed out at $20,000.00 on each of several cards. Look in their closets and there are racks of expensive clothes often duplications and often with the tags still hanging on them as they were never worn. The vig (interest alone) on these cards is often draining the family of as much as 12,000 or more a year all going to some credit card company, owned by a bank. There is very little difference between the loan shark working the docks and factories (if we have any factories left) and the modern day credit card company.
I have seen more than one family destroyed when one, often the husband, cannot resist gambling. Often on anything from horse races, to football or baseball games, or to cards or dice. It is the rush or the high that they are after and winning or making money is usually not that important. There debt is more often to a bookie or loan shark than a credit card company, but it is killing debt none the less. Money that should pay for food and housing is often thrown away gambling to get that high.
Of course it is easy to say it is their own fault and of course to some extent any addictive behavior is the person’s own fault, and it is his or her responsibility to stop the destructive behavior. Still it is also our governments job to put limits and controls on predators who intentionally target such people to take advantage of their weakness.
Just as we don’t allow alcohol and tobacco companies to target children in their advertising, we should not offer protection to credit card companies that just mail out credit cards and blank checks to any and everyone. These companies should be responsible for the losses they know they will sustain in such predatory lending practices. It is the same with student loans. The government should not be guaranteeing these loans. The credit companies make all the interest, so they should take the risks.
It is important to be aware of these psychological addictions as they are pretty wide spread and often not as easy to spot as a physical addiction. If contemplating marriage, make certain you are not marrying someone with one of these family destroying psychological addictions.
I have seen men making well over $100,000 a year buying a nice home and letting their wives handle the money. After several years instead of a huge savings account, all they have is $75,000 or more in debt, on 5 or 6 credit cards they did not know their wives had. There is no savings of course. They have an accident and can’t work for a few months and they loose the house, their cars, and every thing. He was working so hard to make the money he did not see his wife throwing it away on stuff.
If you think it does not happen over and over, you are just not paying attention. So know the person you are with, and make certain you are not marrying a walking disaster. Also never just assume your partner in business or life is rational about money.
However there are also psychological addictions. Here I am not positive if it is totally psychological or if the event releases chemicals in the brain that are addictive, but either way these things are very addictive to some personalities. Some that come to mind that do not involve a chemical dependency are: Running and the high some runners experience is one. Shopping or buying things is another. Eating is yet another, and for some it is only certain foods like sweets or chocolate. And of course gambling is a big one also.
These psychological addictions result in a temporary feeling of pleasure or joy and a sense of well being, just as do the chemical addictions. Certainly endorphins are released in the brain in a similar manner to many chemical addictions. While these addictions may or may not be detrimental to one’s physical health, they are usually detrimental to one’s psychological health and over all well being.
I have seen more than one family destroyed when one, usually the wife, partner cannot resist buying things, anything on sale or that strikes her fancy. It is not the item she is after so much as the pay off from buying something which is the temporary feeling of well being and happiness. It is not uncommon to see these women with secret credit cards that are maxed out at $20,000.00 on each of several cards. Look in their closets and there are racks of expensive clothes often duplications and often with the tags still hanging on them as they were never worn. The vig (interest alone) on these cards is often draining the family of as much as 12,000 or more a year all going to some credit card company, owned by a bank. There is very little difference between the loan shark working the docks and factories (if we have any factories left) and the modern day credit card company.
I have seen more than one family destroyed when one, often the husband, cannot resist gambling. Often on anything from horse races, to football or baseball games, or to cards or dice. It is the rush or the high that they are after and winning or making money is usually not that important. There debt is more often to a bookie or loan shark than a credit card company, but it is killing debt none the less. Money that should pay for food and housing is often thrown away gambling to get that high.
Of course it is easy to say it is their own fault and of course to some extent any addictive behavior is the person’s own fault, and it is his or her responsibility to stop the destructive behavior. Still it is also our governments job to put limits and controls on predators who intentionally target such people to take advantage of their weakness.
Just as we don’t allow alcohol and tobacco companies to target children in their advertising, we should not offer protection to credit card companies that just mail out credit cards and blank checks to any and everyone. These companies should be responsible for the losses they know they will sustain in such predatory lending practices. It is the same with student loans. The government should not be guaranteeing these loans. The credit companies make all the interest, so they should take the risks.
It is important to be aware of these psychological addictions as they are pretty wide spread and often not as easy to spot as a physical addiction. If contemplating marriage, make certain you are not marrying someone with one of these family destroying psychological addictions.
I have seen men making well over $100,000 a year buying a nice home and letting their wives handle the money. After several years instead of a huge savings account, all they have is $75,000 or more in debt, on 5 or 6 credit cards they did not know their wives had. There is no savings of course. They have an accident and can’t work for a few months and they loose the house, their cars, and every thing. He was working so hard to make the money he did not see his wife throwing it away on stuff.
If you think it does not happen over and over, you are just not paying attention. So know the person you are with, and make certain you are not marrying a walking disaster. Also never just assume your partner in business or life is rational about money.
