A thought about over consumption and addiction….
Many of us understand that we should consume less in every area of our lives however there is one thing stopping us – we are addicted!
There are lots of problems with addiction, but these three in particular are key:
- Very often people can be addicted to something for years without even realising they are addicted.
- It is very hard to stop doing something that you are addicted to especially if you don’t even realise you are addicted.
- It is very easy to over consume something you are addicted to!
So which addictions am I talking about? I have a few ideas and I’m sure this isn’t a comprehensive list, however here are a few to get the ball rollling:
- Cigarettes
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Chocolate
- Sugar
- Fat
- Salt
- Shopping
- TV shows
- Computer games
- Social networking sites
- Smart phones
- The desire to have it fast or now e.g. fast food, high speed broadband, ready meals
- Texting
- Exercise
- Dieting
- New things / throwaway things
- Cars
I’m not immune from addiction. I have recently given up sugar which is great, but there are more things on that list I could do with giving up!
I think that as a society we need to first recognise and then address our unhealthy addictions. That is the only way we are going to be able to really stop over consuming!
What do you think? What should be added to the list and what should be done about these addictions?
