Overlooked greed toxic to our mental health

When it comes to primary emotions, we often overlook greed.

Many in my profession regard it more as a life view, motivational strategy or ingrained psychological script, rather than a genuine emotion, but I differ.

It destroys relationships, just like anger. It diminishes happiness, just like depression. It fosters wariness, just like anxiety.

While sometimes rewarding an individual with money and power, it also wreaks havoc on both the person it possesses and those affected by his or her actions.

And I do mean, “possesses.” Greed alters its human host, influencing most, if not all other emotions and their antecedent behaviors.

The origins of this destructive state are ancient.

Some of our ancestors, out of fear, developed an intense and self-serving desire to monopolize essential resources — food, water, shelter, etc. This was their version of insurance.

In doing so, they used a variety of methods, including brute strength, intimidation, manipulation and subterfuge, approaches that greedy people employ readily today.

At the same time, other folks from our ancestral past discovered that working together for the common good, such as hunting in teams, raising children in groups and sharing resources, was an effective approach to survival while simultaneously reducing interpersonal conflict.

These two opposing strategies — me, myself and I vs. we, ourselves and us — remain a potent source of social and political conflict today. Which delivers the greater good? There is evidence that “me cultures,” where greed is both common and encouraged, exhibit much higher rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse than “we cultures.”

Sadly, the USA is among the world’s most mentally unhealthy nations (World Health Organization data), demonstrating very high levels of stress, depression and anxiety.

Our poor showing is due, in part, to the social and personal impacts of greed.

At the individual level, this emotion tends to operate in the shadows of consciousness.

Frequently, we disguise it, both to ourselves and others, using positive terminology, such as “driven” and “ambitious” and “highly successful.”

Clearly, these attributes (drive, ambition, etc.) can be constructive influences in one’s life and for the greater good, but only when balanced with values such as kindness, generosity, fairness and gratitude.

Absent these counter-balances, greed becomes the “god” one worships in conducting day-to-day actions and formulating decisions.

If one’s core value is “getting the most for me,” it is far easier to rationalize behaviors that, while beneficial for one’s own purposes, prove destructive to other people, the environment and the collective good.

And greed extracts a toll on those harboring it, as well.

It destroys relationships, just like anger. It diminishes happiness, just like depression. It fosters wariness, just like anxiety.

It contributes to loneliness, cynicism and a casualty list of unhappy or angry people one has wronged and turned into enemies.

After leaving the presidency, declining lucrative influence-peddling jobs and returning to his humble home in Missouri, Harry Truman warned us:

“Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles.”

Amen.