Long-term safety is not found in bank accounts, food stocks, or accumulated wealth – do these truly serve anyone for an extended time?

External security solutions are necessary, but think of financial crises, revolutions, wars, epidemics – you name it. Do our current solutions benefit anyone for the long haul, except perhaps a few who, nevertheless, can’t predict anything for their future generations?

Dear reader, my newsletter aims to uphold your right to be informed and champion science. Together, we can drive social transformation for a post-growth world by uniting, not just teaching or preaching. By meeting people where they are and understanding their stories, motivations, and limitations, we allow amazing impact to happen. Together, we can empower each other through emotional capital – humanity’s most powerful asset – and build the future we aspire to live in, where you are warmly invited.

The world doesn’t feel safe at all

Struggling to manage fears of uncertainty, many find themselves trapped in a cycle of… overconsumption. Academic studies show that we buy up to 90% of all purchases impulsively (unnecessarily). Initially, it was an idea that we overconsume for hedonic purposes, trying to please ourselves. However, COVID-19 changed it all.

Research during the pandemic has highlighted the struggle many faced in managing stress, leading to impulsive buying. It has been shown that in times of insecurity, humans often switch into survival mode. For example, various studies have investigated the impact of temporary supply shortages during lockdowns and other external stimuli on emotional arousal. Results have challenged the notion that overconsumption is purely driven by hedonic motives, as it was assumed before.

Gupta and Mukherjee found that panic led to impulsive and even obsessive-compulsive buying, suggesting that such behaviors served as a restoration phenomenon. Similarly, research by Phang and colleagues emphasized that the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic contributed to impulsive purchasing among average consumers.

A collaborative article by Chiu discovered a positive correlation between negative mood and impulsive behaviors, as individuals often seek distractions to alleviate aversive emotions. This is precisely the reason that results in impulsive buying as a means to alleviate fear.

Exploring the motivation for dining out during the pandemic, Jiang and Lau found that social values were crucial, driven by consumers’ intense need to relieve emotional and social pressures, thereby transforming their mood. Moreover, we not only want to spend time with friends and family, but we also tend to consume even more together! There are studies that show that to impress and gain approval from close circles, we often buy things to show off.

Ultimately, since emotions mediate the relationship between impulsive buying tendencies and behavior, researchers investigated whether these actions can play a role in restoring psychological well-being.

Befriending a dangerous ally

We have a strong need to satisfy our psychological needs, especially during times of crisis, but relying on impulsive buying is like befriending a dangerous ally. It’s similar to alleviating symptoms without addressing the root cause, which not only fails to provide a long-term solution but also intensifies the negative consequences of the current situation.

Therefore, multiple studies have suggested practical actions to support psychological well-being for the mitigation of impulsive urges. Understanding emotional responses becomes crucial in developing healthier coping mechanisms for managing stress and avoiding the pitfalls of overconsumption.

Can we find a mechanism to eliminate impulsive buying?

Wang emphasized the need to guide individuals’ awareness to intervene effectively in reducing their lack of control and anxiety, thereby preventing negative consumer psychology and behavior.

Ah Fook and McNeill highlight the importance of recognizing antecedents to overconsumption linked to individual impulsivity, while Phang et al. advocate for creating constant reminders or planning prompts (those lists we use to purchase exactly what we want while shopping?).

That means we can control ourselves better and avoid buying impulsively. This is a great news, but what about psychological distress?

Remember, during the pandemic, it was clearly demonstrated that panic buying served as a compensatory mechanism in response to the fear and psychological challenges of the time, driven by utilitarian motives and a state of survival.

Survival mode is an adaptive response of the human body that helps us survive danger and stress, while stressful stimuli initiate a specific physiological and psychological reaction. It seems we need consumption if it helps release our stress, so that’s good!

Hold on… but do we sort out anything being consumerists?

The matter is that impulsive buying is just another quick fix. Sounds useful, but what do we gain by fixing our emotional states instead of addressing psychological problems more deeply?

Survival mode involves releasing stress hormones and activating our stress response systems in such a way that all our resources are reasonably directed to the survival goal. Following stress responses, we react without creating desirable or meaningful responses, which means we don’t have even a glimpse of creativity.

It sounds logical that we can not be creative in a state of survival. But what a stupid idea to be creative when you need to save your life, you are asking?

Agree, but I don’t refer to creativity as the ability to write poems in challenging moments, although it will be applicable. It also refers to the fact that we cannot use critical thinking, see and value different opportunities, and be creative about methods of further action: we cannot innovate. However, we consistently apply short-term fixes because we want to be “in control” and anticipate that adverse circumstances will eventually pass after a short period.

What is wrong with a desire to “be in control?”

Well, life consistently presents challenges, but some of them are particularly difficult to endure. You may think of global challenges, but simple psychological distress can have long-term effects. To navigate these safely, individuals must rely on something to feel competent in their ability to overcome long-standing obstacles.

This competence is the ability to “be in control.” It could be achieved by developing self-confidence through various methods, often sticking to those that prove effective during one’s lifetime.

We approach that differently. While some rely on bold self-confidence, which is rooted in belief in inner strengths, many depend on self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the result of past actions rather than beliefs, providing confidence from previous successes that can be leveraged in future challenges. In this way, self-efficacy represents “proved” confidence rather than “bold” confidence.

Does overconsumption make us more competent or confident?

Well…yes, for a moment, and no, not at all. Give me a chance to demonstrate it to you.

What do we rely on if we don’t have inner strength, such as self-efficacy, and are not bold enough? Right, we create the illusion of “being in control” by making “airbags” or consuming “beautiful stuff.” This is known as “external security.” Indeed, we focus on security and external factors to reaffirm our inner states.

Do you ever consider your response when someone asks, “Is everything okay?” You might appear concerned and reply, “Yes, everything’s fine. I have money, and the rent/mortgage is paid in advance.” In “The Gift of Sensitivity,” stories illustrate how individuals derive security and confidence from such external solutions.

One narrative features a person who believes the same: “money is the solution” after financing a crucial operation for a family member.

This belief propelled him to become a successful businessman, confidently sharing his journey to inspire others to pursue financial success. However, this focus on welfare solutions alone overshadowed other possible avenues, such as those which belong to well-being. They include health maintenance through lifestyle changes and support of the immune system, which may offer an alternative, long-term path to individual health without relying on quick fixes such as medical operations. The operated family member passed away six years later, prompting reflection on whether monetary aid alone was sufficient service.

In another example, a woman constantly checked on acquaintances, driven by her belief in the necessity of social connections.

“Well, I need friends. Imagine you are in the city and have lost all your belongings; how would you help yourself if you don’t know anybody around?” was her reasoning.

“We need social connections always.”

Social connections had become her source of confidence.

Her reasoning was pragmatic: should she ever find herself in a difficult circumstance, having friends would be invaluable. For her, social connections provided a sense of security and confidence.

These narratives demonstrate how both money and social connections can serve as external solutions for building self-confidence and security. These two examples serve as examples of external “airbag” solutions for building self-confidence. Therefore, once the economic system starts to show any deviations from a stable state, or shows volatility, many experience panic and stress, especially when no “airbags” left: “How can I survive if I cannot rely on the current economic system anymore?”

Volatility creates more volatility, and the cycle goes on until everybody is stressed enough that they just can’t be anymore. This time is survived by those who share absolute friendship in their emotions, see and predict trends, and apply their energy there. They sense a path forward – would you agree that this kind of creativity is needed? During hardship, innovators and creators don’t rely on existing resources; they rely on inner confidence, and they know how to apply it for new interventions that were not even known before.

Indeed, we must take care of ourselves; therefore, a reasonable level of external solutions must occur in our lives.

However, while external solutions are vital, they must be balanced with internal emotional maturity and self-care to create a well-rounded sense of competence and safety.

It must be an inner source of confidence that lets us know we can find a way through challenges. Therefore, overconsumption is never satisfied; consumerism doesn’t work long-term. We always want newer and better, and we are trapped in unhealthy coping mechanisms.

We need to maintain individual psychological safety

This understanding is crucial and draws your attention to the word “perception.”

Perception is an individual characteristic, meaning how you perceive your world or psychological safety in our conversation.

Perception is individually maintained, being a personal experience.

To simplify, someone can be safe and unsafe in the same environment; it depends on individual perception.

Guess it, but once we are psychologically safe, we are better equipped for any changes ahead.

Individual psychological safety refers to the understanding that one is in a safe space, and it is a crucial term for fostering creativity and innovation.

Indeed, it is still vital to maintain psychologically safe (work and group) places, but we are responsible for our inner emotional instability and vulnerability.

To maintain inner safety, we need to cultivate clean emotional states, regardless of what happens around us, just as sages have done.

Until then, it is beneficial to be aware of our coping mechanisms.

That’s all for today.

We’ll talk again in two weeks.

If these words were helpful to you, please share your thoughts with Emotional Capital Newsletter readers: we are happy to hear from you!

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Find me on LinkedIn or website. Send me professional inquiries at Kirkus ProConnect. Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Emotional Capital Newsletter promotes freedom from buying urges and overconsumption, advocating for global emotional health as a foundation for a post-growth economy.
2. Emotional Capital for the Triple Win: 50 Innovative Ways to Lead the Consumption Revolution book reveals 50 business ways to transform consumer behavior for a triple win: benefiting people, the planet, and universal prosperity.
3. The Gift of Sensitivity Book saves you precious time by summarizing 8 years of research & personal journey for extraordinary faculties such as creativity, originality, innovation, intuition, flexibility, and inclusiveness in times of technological acceleration.

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For passionate readers:

Researcher’s details with full citations can be found in the book Emotional Capital for the Triple Win