Our society’s excessive desire for possessions and status now has a name, thanks to Peter C. Whybrow, M.D. His recently published book ‘American Mania,’ subtitled ‘When More is Not Enough,’ (Norton) takes a novel look at the paradox of how the world’s most affluent nation also has epidemic rates of stress, anxiety, depression and obesity. ”’In our relentless pursuit of happiness, we have overshot the target and spawned a manic society with an insatiable appetite for more,’ writes Whybrow, a practicing psychiatrist who is director of the Jane and Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. A British transplant, Whybrow divides his time between L.A. and a second home in New Hampshire. The author will appear at Village Books at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7. ”Whybrow’s theories and idea for the book stem from having observed the frenzy of the Internet-driven economy of the late 1990s, an environment that created many instant millionaires. Mania, defined in psychiatric terms as a highly energetic yet delusional sense of well-being, seemed to Whybrow a natural metaphor for what he views as a deeply troubled American psyche. ”’Everyone feels that they have to get richer and richer,’ Whybrow said during a recent phone interview. ‘Yet there is no correlation, no evidence that this is making anyone happier.’ ” He points out that despite a massive increase in disposable income, many American families consider themselves too busy to enjoy their affluence. ‘Material wealth has been decoupled from contentment and personal fulfillment,’ he writes. ‘The time investment devoted to securing wealth has crowded out family life and threatens the intimacy on which humans thrive.”’ ”According to Whybrow, human beings in general don’t manage abundance well. But for the United States, a nation of immigrants who by nature are driven and competitive, this over-the-top hunger for acquisition is especially acute. ” He contends that genes play a big role, too, insofar as the human brain is programmed to crave material reward. However, the natural checks to our biologically driven self-interest have been diminished by an increasingly global’and impersonal’society. ”’When Adam Smith wrote ‘The Wealth of Nations’ in 1776, Boston was 10,000 people. The market was the hub of the community, and people learned social and moral rules through the marketplace. That is not the case anymore,’ Whybrow said. ”In short, the founders of the great American experiment in free-market economy could not have envisioned the ‘Fast New World’ of the 21st century, where global business operates 24/7 and megastores dominate the landscape. ”’We have removed from our lives that which gives people a general sense of belonging,’ says Whybrow, referring not only to the loss of the ‘corner store,’ but also to our migratory habits. ‘Most people do not live close to parents and other family.’ ”The author weaves together history, economics, social science and biology in analyzing the malaise of modern life, including a chapter examining the roots of obesity in this country. The book also contains colorful portraits of people who have chosen to step off the ‘American Dream’ treadmill. ”’Ultimately, the only way for change is through individual responsibility,’ says Whybrow, who hopes his book will spur reflection on how to slow down and achieve a better balance between work and family.
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