What therapy can tell us about consumerism

Therapy is an understated and often scorned at phenomenon, where people are stigmatized to believe that they have some sort of a disorder if they seek therapy.

But the great equalizer this pandemic has been, where you are forced to do exactly the same thing that almost everyone else in the world is doing, therapy is also beginning to receive its much-needed attention and acceptance.

Be it talking to a professional therapist, or a life coach, or even a friend, people all around are starting to reach out. And for those who may still be uncomfortable opening to a another human, there are plenty of virtual therapists, and even bots in some cases, who can address you and potentially alleviate your vexations.

The most common form of therapy though, that almost everyone in this lockdown is embracing, is some sort of home-skill that they never knew they were interested in before, or never had the time to delve into as much as they are doing now.

Bet it painting a canvas or baking a “coronabread”, everyone is up to something and splattering their achievements across social media. While the ones we have visibility to may be out of vanity, most of them are also underpinned with therapy. Because these things people are doing are also bringing in a sense of peace to our idle and perturbed minds. At its very core, this is exactly what therapy is.

What’s interesting though, is that what one person finds therapeutic, may be stressful for another. I find doing the dishes in the dishwasher therapeutic, and I know this is a source of stress for many others. However, I also know I am not alone in this, because Bill Gates himself does the dishes to unwind, and he is definitely not short of help, either humans or machines, to do this for him.

Why is it then that we have different tasks that are therapeutic for us? It’s because we have a System 1 at play in the brain, that operates as differently as System 2. System 1 is led by the limbic brain that controls primary emotional functions like fear, hunger or sex, while System 2 is the neocortex that is unique to just us humans which is what makes us top the food chain.

Now how is all of this understanding of the democratization of therapy and its relationship to System 1 linked to consumerism? Well, that’s because as much as we may want to deny it, purchase decisions are not driven by System 2 or our rational brain, but always by System 1. So much so that we will concoct rational explanations and even become brand evangelists for a purchase we have made, while it was actually just the food-craving, sexually-starved limbic brain making that choice.

So if both therapy and purchase decisions are driven by similar underlying motivations, does it not make sense then to develop an understanding of what we find therapeutic, in order to sell something to us?

As marketeers, we always need to ask why repeatedly to go beyond the root issue, but also hold back before we reach God, in order to find the real insight behind any consumer problem or opportunity. Delving deeper into therapy, which everyone has now embraced, may just open up some interesting demand spaces.

In the mighty challenge to generate strong insights, asking the right questions are key. 

Maybe questions around therapy could also be added to our repertoire.