Does Personal Bankruptcy Stem From Emotional Bankruptcy

I've been noticing a lot of friends and acquaintances filing for personal bankruptcy in the last few years and I've come to the conclusion that many, if not all, of these people were bankrupt in the sense of emotional stability and spiritual quality of life long before they filed for bankruptcy.

I have no doubt that voicing my individual thoughts on this subject are going to cause a backlash effect. What I want to make clear, up front, is that I'm trying my best not to judge people that file bankruptcy. I haven't walked in their shoes. But I HAVE noticed way too many people living beyond their means and not bothering to slow down their spending habits even when they know they are headed towards bankruptcy. Actually, I've seen many people make the choice to spend even more when they've realized that they're not going to be able to avoid bankruptcy.

I personally know people that look at bankruptcy as an obvious choice that is a fact of life once they've accumulated more debt than they can possibly handle. These same people begin making even more purchases of extravagant items once they realize they are in over their heads. They've either lost or never had any sense of responsibility for their own debts and actions.

Many of these folks have an attitude of "I'll just file bankruptcy, clear the slate and start over". They don't have any ethical qualms about this decision. They foresee where they're headed and, instead of cutting back and changing their spending habits, they become even more extravagant with their living style because they have no intentions of having to pay for it.

Other people fall into the trap of believing they're entitled to the extravagant life they see others living and believe that they will be able to "pay for it later". What they don't see with many of these extravagant lifestyles they're observing is that many of those people living those lifestyles are mere months/years from filing bankruptcy themselves. Competing with the "Jones's" has become the downfall of our country!

The sad realization that I've come to from seeing so many people go through this process is that there is something seriously wrong with the ethics and lifestyle of a lot of people in our country. How did we get to this point? And how are we going to rectify the situation?  Possibly it's rectifying itself as we speak.  Hence the economic turmoil and tightening restrictions on lending.

I've experienced emotional trauma and depression.  Having worked through it, I see some correlation between the rate of personal bankruptcies and the rate of depression in the U.S.  People that are depressed frequently try to fill their hearts with what they believe will make them happy (or at least it will appear to others that they are happy and fulfilled).  Many times this means buying new things, buying expensive items and still never feeling fulfilled.  Or, at least, not fulfilled longer than a couple days or weeks after our purchases.  

It seems likely that going through bankruptcy would cause some sort of depression in the individual but, from my  perspective, I think it's more common that personal depression and unhappiness leads to a lot of the personal bankruptcies that occur.  

Have you ever witnessed friends and loved ones that bought new homes or expensive new items (and it appeared that they were so fortunate and happy in their lives) just to witness shortly thereafter that they are divorcing?  I've seen this take place too many times in the past 10-15 years and it makes me sad for the mental and spiritual condition of our society. 

Okay, I admit it, I'm almost a half of a century old! Am I just getting old, crotchety and a know-it-all or does anyone else see these trends in the United States? Call me judgmental but I'm really tired of working hard, saving for the extras in my life and watching others buy new cars, new homes, new furniture and taking tropical vacations. These same people are the people I see filing bankruptcy after years of this behavior.

I feel like these same types of people are one of the main reasons that our housing market got so out of control. Most of us want the big fancy house and we want it NOW. No matter that they're horribly overpriced, we're entitled to be happy and we want everyone to see how happy and successful we are, so we buy that house; no matter that it was ridiculously overpriced. And the housing market kept going up...supply and demand.

Then life happens and you lose your job or you just simply have over-leveraged yourself so you took out a second mortgage or a home equity loan to cover your debts. And you kept spending and buying and taking trips. And then the bubble burst, as well it should have! Now bankruptcy is the answer?. Yah, this whole scenario ticks me off. Sorry if the truth hurts folks.

The part that disturbs me the most is that our society's ethics, greed and selfishness greatly contributed to the current state of the economy and I'm having to pay for it. I didn't make those types of choices in my life. I managed my money and if I couldn't afford it, I didn't buy it. I saved for my retirement and I didn't buy a new car every year. I went without quite frequently. I'm glad that I did. It kept me grounded and focused on what is important; my family and the quality time we spent together.

But you know what? The whole situation offends me and ticks me off. Why the hell do I have to pay the price (taxes, property values, dire economy) for people that purposefully chose to get themselves to the point of bankruptcy through their own selfishness and greed?

In conclusion, as opinionated and offended as I am by some of our behavior as a group of people and as saddened and concerned as I am with what appears to be an entire country in emotional and spiritual turmoil, there seems to be a positive trend toward change recently.

More and more of us seem to be reaching out towards personal fulfillment that comes from family, self and community while simultaneously reducing our spending and accumulation of riches habits. While many believe the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, I truly believe that we are on our way towards a more calm, emotionally stable society that treasures the very fact that we exist. I believe that we are beginning to learn that less is more and that "appearances aren't everything".

I feel like we may have finally fallen far enough into the "gutter" that we are ready to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and learn from our mistakes. As we become a more faithful, giving society that is beginning to get our priorities in order the current economical and mental health issues that we currently suffer with will greatly diminish.

So, although it seems that we're in so much trouble as a society, I'm looking forward to the future that we will build after learning from our negative experiences and our negative choices.  Obviously, we had to get to this point in our evolution to understand why we are here and what we need to do.  The world isn't coming to an end people and we aren't going to eternal hell! We are simply turning a corner into a future that is founded on the peace and happiness that we all have been so desperately seeking.  

Take the time in your day to do something kind for a stranger.  Focus on your family and loved ones and forget about the fancy stuff.  Changing the way we live is going to change the way we feel.  Changing the way we feel is going to change the way we live.  Focus on your ethics and your morals; quit trying to live your life to impress others.  Just try to live your life happily.  It's all we've got.