Dead inside: when money means everything

Without money, are you dead inside? The answer isn't that simple

Can someone feel dead inside because of a lack of money? The question resonates in a society where capital seems to be the key to everything. But some argue the answer lies in perspective. The issue is far from trivial: while some see money as the oxygen that lets them breathe, others consider it merely a means that guarantees no happiness.

Money as a condition of life

For many, a lack of liquidity is synonymous with a living death. According to some estimates, 80% of mental health problems are attributed directly or indirectly to a lack of resources. Without money, there is no private healthcare, no decent housing, not even an adequate diet. And the fact is that 95% of workers labor for money, not out of vocation. Take the case of someone who works seven days a week for twenty years to save 100,000 euros, only to discover that the effort has turned them into a bitter person. Money, like air or water, is only appreciated when it is missing.

Perspective as salvation

But there is another school of thought that holds that misery lies not in the bank account but in the mind. You can be poor and happy, and rich and perversos. In fact, the irony of "I was so poor I only had money" sums up the paradox. Some even argue that millionaires by inheritance tend to be more unbalanced than those who earned it the hard way. The key may lie in detaching yourself from the material world, like someone imagining themselves in ancient Rome, gazing at the Colosseum while their stomach growls. Isn't that living life to the full?

In short, the answer to the question is not clear-cut. A living death depends more on attitude than on your wallet. That said, it helps to have something to pay the bills.