Money Dysmorphia is Ruining Your Life

In a world of social media, hyperconsumerism, and severely warped perceptions of happiness, young people around the world are beginning to develop a condition which is having dire consequences on their lives.

That condition, is known as money dysmorphia. And the worst part?

It was created by the rich, for the rich, so they could profit off of the financial insecurities of millions of ordinary working people.

It has to stop, and here’s why.

What is Money Dysmorphia?

Money dysmorphia is an odd term, so to help define it, I’ll compare it with a more commonly used term in society: body dysmorphia.

Body dysmorphia is used to describe a person with a strong insecurity with the way they look. They see who they are as abnormal, so often take drastic measures to combat it.

This can go one of two ways:

• You can work on yourself to be healthier and look better.

• You can partake in coping mechanisms which end up doing more harm than good. This, sadly, is the more common route for those suffering.

As a result, you create this never ending spiral of hardship, which can get increasingly difficult to get out of.

If you swap out ‘body’ for ‘money’, you can soon get a good idea of what money dysmorphia is about.

MD is when you’re insecure about your financial situation. You think there’s something fundamentally wrong with what you’re doing, or you simply feel as though you’re falling behind your peers.

So, what do you do?

A small amount of people will be sensible. They’ll look at things rationally, and come to the swift conclusion that they need assets to build wealth.

But most, unfortunately, will choose the way of the coping mechanism. And in financial terms, that means liabilities. Lots, and lots, of liabilities.

• The flash car that loses half it’s value in the first year.

• Designer clothes covered in giant logos that make you look like an idiot.

• Soulless holidays because everyone else is doing the same.

All of a sudden… your financial situation gets increasingly more dire. And the worst part?

None of it has made you happy.

Instead, you’re giving all your time to the rich, and now you’re giving all your money back to them too. That’s what money dysmorphia is doing to people.

And it’s all by design.

Origins of Modern Money Dysmorphia

Money dysmorphia is a relatively new term, and it’s origins are hard to pinpoint. So, let’s talk for a second about why it occurs.

It occurs because the world we live in is becoming increasingly public, and increasingly competitive.

Since the creation, and explosion in popularity of social media platforms like FaceBook, Instagram and Snapchat, you now have the ability to document your life (or, the best bits at least) on a public domain for the whole world to see.

And because you want to share all the best parts of your life with as many people as possible, that’s what you do.

The only problem is that you can be selective with what you post. You can filter out all the bad days, and even just the normal days, and give the world the idea that your life is nothing but a string of wonderful moments that you choose to document.

And when you have someone (you) just going about a regular day at school or at work scrolling through all these magical moments online…

• People getting new cars

• People getting married

• People travelling the world

You start to think that you’re falling behind. So, what do you do?

You spend.

Not because you want to, but because you think you need to, in order for society to accept you.

You load up on the exact liabilities that have developed your money dysmorphia.

And then, you start the cycle for someone else.

It’s a never ending cesspool of cancerous societal expectations that drains the wealth building capabilities of the 99%, all whilst the 1% are making giant profits by exploiting your insecurities with social media.

How to Combat Money Dysmorphia

Dial Down The Constant Comparisons

Money dysmorphia comes from an unhealthy amount of comparing oneself to the lives of others. This mainly comes from being on social media too much.

It’s made you insecure. It’s made you unauthentic. It’s made you succumb to whatever trends and societal expectations are relevant at the time.

It’s turned you into a damn robot is what I’m trying to say.

Dial down the comparisons. Spend less time on social media. You need to consume less of other people’s lives, because the act of doing this is literally making you miserable.

I did this, and I’m extremely grateful for doing so. I recommend you do the same.

Find Out What Makes You Happy

Stop conforming to whatever society deems successful and happy.

Let’s face it, most ordinary people have this same problem. Trying to fit into an archetype that society deems successful…

• The flash car.

• The designer clothes.

• The extravagant holidays covering your Instagram profile.

But if you actually ever get to know these people… they’re miserable, because they never took the time to figure out what they want from their one life.

Instead, they’re too busy investing all their money and all their time into becoming a person that they think society wants them to be.

That’s not how it works, and deep down, you know it.

Everyone is different. Some people love the high life and the expensive dinners and the luxury holidays. Others might prefer a quiet life on the coast or in the countryside, away from all the noise.

But the important thing is that you have to figure this out for yourself. Don’t let societal norms which are determined by… nobody, set the course for your whole life.

And it goes without saying… don’t let it ruin your finances, because as you should know by now, money is your ticket to a better life.

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