Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Are you affected by the ‘Affluenza Virus?’



According to Oliver James in his book 'Affluenza', the Affluenza Virus increases your susceptibility to the commonest emotional distresses: depression, anxiety, substance abuse and personality disorder (like the me, me, me narcissism, febrile moods or confused identity).


He asks –Have you contacted the affluenza virus? Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following statements.

I would like to be a wealthy person.
I would like my name known by many people
I would like to successfully hide the signs of ageing
I would like to be admired by many people
I would like to have people comment often about how attractive I look
I like to keep up with fashions in hair and clothing
I would like to have my name appear frequently in the media
I often compare what I own with what others own
Possessions can be just as important as people
Shopping or thinking about what to buy greatly preoccupies me
If a friend can’t help me get ahead in life, I usually end the friendship
I’m less concerned with what work I do than with what I get for it
I admire people who own expensive homes, cars and clothes
My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have now
The things I will own will say a lot about how well I’ve done in life
I want a lot of luxury in life.

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions, then it’s said you have the virus. The more ‘yes’ answered, the higher the viral load.

10 comments:

simon said...

i did not answer yes to any of them.

but i do have the flu..... grumble, snort, snort.....

Dr Michelle Tempest said...

Simon - I hope that you get better soon.
Michelle

Dragonfly said...

Does my clear lack of giving a crap-ness about fashion count as a protective factor?

Ellee Seymour said...

I've got this book too and met Oliver at Cambridge WordFest. He emphasised how it was more important for mothers to stay at home rather than work, that kids wanted to have a homebase mum. That was right for me, but it is not possible for everyone. And this government has made that impossible.

Anonymous said...

You don't actually take this shite seriously, do you?

shraddha said...

These questions made me laugh.
I guess it could be relevant to some, I frankly do not identify with them at all.

Ellee Seymour said...

Oliver James was on the radio yesterday speaking on this subject. It all makes good sense to me.

Jeremy Jacobs said...

"Afflunza" whatever next?

I suppose someone's written a book about it.

simon said...

thanks doc-took me a month!!

skpsycho said...

Nice concept! I don't know how it is in the UK, but here in America I seem to be surrounded by people with high viral load. And they sneeze at me all the time! :) I am still healthy, but unsure how much longer I can keep up...