In confession, I confessed that I felt that I was ignoring and not responding to some promptings of the Holy Spirit. The priest said smiling, "That can be serious. It is acedia. Many refer to it as the Eighth Capital Sin." Traditionally the Seven Capital Sins are vices that lead to multiple other sinful behaviours. They are pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth. I was somewhat shocked, a "capital sin?"
Excessive preoccupation with fashion of any kind can be a likely symptom of acedia where one seeks freedom even at the cost of being well. We see this not only in our attire but in our speech, opinions and patterns of behaviour. To be fashionable, we often choose to be free rather than be well. "There is a sense that our freedom came at a cost, namely the loss of a higher purpose, of anything worth living for, and so the only remainder is a 'centering on the self'" We quickly get bored, and fashion seems to soothe the desire for free expression.
