Money obsession: why do some people get it?

Money is necessary to survive in the world we currently inhabit. The economic system under which we live makes it practically impossible to think of living without money, since all the goods and services that we consume daily have a monetary cost.

So all those who are capable and responsible for producing it, are more or less in accordance with the economic system, have no choice but to live under its yoke.

• Related article: "The 20 rarest phobias of the human being"

Why are some people obsessed with money?

First hand, work is the way we get money. But when you become obsessed with money, the strategies to get it can even go beyond what is legal or healthy.

It is one thing to worry about money and another to live obsessed by it. When financial resources are scarce, whether due to personal or systemic reasons, worry about money becomes intense and it becomes difficult to enjoy other aspects of life. Stress Faced with the possibility of not meeting needs through money, it becomes overwhelming.

The 9 causes of crematomania

But there are people who exceed that limit and suffer from an obsession with money, also known as crematomania. This psychological disorder can have negative consequences for the health of the affected person.

Here are some reasons why people can develop an unhealthy obsession with money.

1. Positive reinforcement

The cycle involved in obtaining money generates satisfaction. After an effort made, the reward arrives. When the effort is work and the reward is money, this becomes the immediate satisfaction that exerts as positive reinforcement. This psychological mechanism is very similar to that experienced by those affected by gambling.

Feeling that our efforts have a monetary compensation is something that all human beings like. The feeling of obtaining a reward or satisfactory is pleasant and we usually carry out different actions to be able to repeat that feeling. However, if this gets out of hand, a person can become obsessed with the work-get-money cycle, just by continually feeling positive reinforcement.

2. Need for approval

People can develop an obsession with money because of their own need for approval.. Our society seems to have already regularly associated success with the accumulation of wealth and possessions.

As a result, the people with the most money are considered the most successful. In turn, successful people are applauded and recognized in their social and work circles. When a person feels this excessive need for approval, he can find in the accumulation of wealth the perfect means to obtain this social recognition.

3. Afraid

Fear and uncertainty about the future are a reason for the obsession with money. Especially if the person suffered excessive deficiencies in their childhood, or if they previously went through a moment of bankruptcy, the fear of That it happens again can lead you to accumulate money and to plan all your daily life based on how profitable your her efforts.

This clearly becomes an obsession, and it is also possible that obtaining more and more money ends up becoming accumulation. That is, the interest of the person obsessed with money is not so much to obtain money to carry out a certain life plan, but rather feels an urgent need to accumulate savings to prevent a future situation of "cows skinny ". His constant thought is to protect himself for an uncertain future.

4. Can

There are people who seek to exercise power and find money an effective tool. Far from one genuine leadership attitudeSome like to exercise power and coercion over others. It is common to believe that power and respect go hand in hand.

For some people, having wealth and purchasing power gives them an inordinate sense of security that leads them to have despotic attitudes in which they find satisfaction. Money becomes their support in order to justify their way of acting and, unfortunately, many around them allow this negative attitude.

5. Emotion

There are cases of people obsessed with money who did it for the emotion in the way of obtaining it. They are people who have risked their life or their freedom in order to obtain large sums of money, and this becomes their obsession.

Beyond seeing in work a means to obtain wealth, they look for illegal means to make money. They are more focused on the excitement and adrenaline that this produces and their great motivation is the wealth and luxuries that may obtain, even if this entails a very real danger of losing liberty or suffering injury or serious injury. problems.

6. Dissatisfaction

A constantly dissatisfied person looks to money for that which he cannot fill. Faced with eternal dissatisfaction, there are people who move on without stopping to think why nothing fills that emotional void.

Money and what can be bought with it offer immediate gratification stimuli that alleviate that feeling of emptiness. For this reason they are obsessed with money as a means to obtain material things that provide them with pleasant or pleasant moments very close to happiness.

7. Poor social skills

When someone is overly shy and discovers that money can help, they can become obsessed with it.. There are many cases of men and women who, given their few social skills, make money their ally to have friends and even a partner.

In this society that links money to success and pleasure, a person who is financially solvent attracts the attention of people who are only looking for material things. So when a person with difficulty socializing understands that it is money that attracts people people, you may develop an obsession with money in an effort not to be left alone and gain acceptance Social.

8. Personal and work life without clear limits

Currently, personal and work life are combined in times and spaces. Technology has allowed many tasks to be performed outside of typical work centers. Thus, it is common to leave work hours and come home to continue working.

This has blurred the line between work and personal life. It seems that those times where one worked to earn money to spend in personal life are no longer valid. Currently there is a tendency to work to have money, in order to continue working, and this circle causes in some people an obsession with money that arises as the only reason to continue in this rhythm of life.

9. Work addiction

Work addiction is a socially accepted type of obsession. A person who works too hard is usually not frowned upon by society, although the reasons behind this are very similar to those of any other type of addiction. Although it is a psychological problem, it rewards it in terms of respect within the company and outside it as someone extremely professional, they can lead to the individual not realizing that it is unhealthy to work so many hours.

People who are addicted to work usually develop an obsession with money as well. It is the most authentic and respected way for your environment to justify your addiction. If so much work generates more and more money, your addiction seems to have a valid reason and then it becomes your reason for being.

Bibliographic references

• Guelfi JD, (1993). ed. Psychiatrie. Paris: PUF.
• Thomas L.V. (1988). Anthropologie des obsessions (Vol. 31). Éditions L'Harmattan.