Drugs and alcohol may head up the list of obvious things people use in their attempt at making themselves feel good quickly, but the list extends far beyond these substances.
Fast food, particularly in the United States, is a top contender. For many, hunger creates the need to feel better right now. Fast food is a quick-fix for being hungry and a fast food drive-thru is even quicker. You don’t even have to dress for the occasion; you can stay in your bathrobe. Consequently, fast food has become the means of instant gratification used by millions as a quick-fix for the need to feel good now. It doesn’t matter that it is not nutritious. It also doesn’t matter that it is usually loaded with empty calories. The only thing that does matter is that it fulfills the need to feel good instantly without having to do anything for it — no need to plant the seeds, grow the food, harvest it, or prepare it. It’s fast. And it’s cheap! Just drive through; pick it up; eat it; and feel good now. And, if your choice of food gives you indigestion — well, there’s a pill to fix that just as fast.
According to a new study even the quantity and size of the fast food quick-fix meal matters to individuals with low incomes. Relatively cheap supersized portions and lots of them seem to temporarily give people a powerful boost in self-importance. It makes them feel good now. Fast food chains aren’t the only successful businesses benefitting from our obsession with food to make us feel good now.
Books about food, new and better diets, and healthy eating are introduced into the marketplace almost daily. Weight loss programs thrive as a direct result of our dependency upon food to make us feel good. When diets and weight loss programs aren’t fast enough we go in search of a pill that will do the work for us. And when all else fails, which it usually does, stomach bypass surgery rises to the top of the quick-fix weight loss list.
What kinds of things make you “feel good now?” Make a list. If you or someone you love is addicted to something just to make themselves feel good, please share this with them.
