The Toxicity of Internalised Capitalism
Phew! This poster of “What Internalized Capitalism Looks Like” from @therapywithlee is a big truth-bomb!
The joys that internalised Capitalism squeezes out
Reading this list, it’s easy to see how internalised capitalism can be erosive to our health, parenting, relationships, sense of self-worth, and performance at work. Internalised capitalism discounts the incredible joys and life-sustaining value of things like play, creativity, hobbies, food gardening, wandering walks, slow sex, sleep, poetry and art, savouring a beautiful view, cuddles, silly-ness, and watching your children. What great losses!
This way of life has us drifting apart in our relationships, losing touch with our bodies, and forgetting who we are. It puts us on the path to burnout.
Maybe you’ve experienced this kind of loss and grief. It’s very real, and very painful. Even though it can be invisible, slow and insidious. And nobody sends you a condolence card about it.
Multiple layers of harm
As with most things that are bad for everyone, internalised capitalism is worse for those in society who have already lost so much and are over-stretched, more vulnerable, and facing greater social and political obstacles.
Women.
People of Colour.
People who live in poverty.
People living with chronic illness and disabilities.
And especially people who live at the intersections of those social identities.
Capitalism is an incredibly unfair and harmful game for people who have unequal abilities, access, inclusion, privilege, and power.
I wish a much healthier way of life for us all!
Let’s rather do:
- Guilt-free rest.
- Self-worth that’s based on the quality of your relationships and an assessment of the degree to which you’re living your values.
- Placing health before productivity.
- Believing that agency, belonging, and meaning = happiness.
- Knowing that rest is a vital part of healing pain, trauma, and adversity.
- Paying attention to, and meeting our needs TOGETHER.