Joy Junkies!

The rush of adrenaline is a powerful condition that offers the fleeting, manufactured, simulation of real joy. Along with the release of endorphins, it is the chemical relative to the condition of joy. The adrenaline rush is not the result of joy, but merely a condition that is experienced while in the midst of an APS event.

If we want to find the perfect model of the extreme APS consumer, we need look no further than the addictive personality. Since we have established that consumers consume in order to obtain joy, then extreme addicts consume mass quantities of products and services in order to fulfill an insatiable if not unnatural desire for joy. The inherent elements of anticipation, progression, and surprise can all be found within the addictive experience. These experiences also almost always include a full multi-sensory environment.

The gambler, the smoker, the drug addict, the spender, the binger, the sex addict, all have their own unique and specific multi-sensory experiences that are encountered in the course of their activities. Notice how many addictive experiences contain strong memories of smells—liquor, sex, food, even exercise. This multi-sensory element in tandem with the APS element makes for an unequalled archetype of the ultimate consumer. I am not suggesting that we all make our fortunes in the business of vice, only that we examine the fundamental elements and behaviors of extreme consumerism, in order to compare the APS and multi-sensory aspects of our own products and services. We all know that joy cannot be found in the bottom of a bottle, or even in the last scoop of a tub of ice cream—but so many of us find ourselves looking there—in search of the antidote of joy’s opposite nature—emotional pain.