Consider these words:
“Consumption without need is the hallmark of addiction, and “consumerism” is defined as “the equating of personal happiness with the purchasing of material possessions and consumption.” The pattern of out-of-control consumption in the United States, which per capita consumes 70 times more than India, with three times the U.S. population, is not qualitatively different from the well-known patterns of behavior of substance abusers. In fact, it looks as if the United States just finished with the worst binge of its life and is now cresting the peak of a wicked crash.”
Wow! Rarely do I read/hear something that puts our consumer culture into such clear focus. Perhaps when we start looking at our trips to the mall for things we don’t need as what they often (not always, but certainly often) are – an attempt to assuage some indefinable hunger – we’ll take a detour toward a park or woods and feed our souls instead.
For the whole article, click here:

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/82013/