Making a purchase can provide a biochemical change that promotes the good feelings that are associated with it. When the funds are available to these people, the purchase can feel a rush of pleasure, just like a drug addict would feel fulfilling their need. Just because you enjoy shopping, doesn't make you an addict. It only becomes a problem when it puts the person in financial trouble and they turn to loans and debt to continue on. "Shopping addiction is associated with abnormal levels of depression and anxiety. Addicts tend to shop when feeling depressed or lonely." It is a behavioral addiction, the process of standing in line, hearing the sounds of the cash register, actually sliding your credit card can all be triggers to that euphoric feeling addicts encounter that make it even more desirable. Changing these patients is not as easy as cutting the credit cards, because an addict will find a way to keep it up. By cutting off funds immediately they could turn to theft and other illegal activities. Any addiction needs the help of a trained professional who is experienced in the problem exactly. Support of friends and family are also key elements to understanding the specific causes that lead the patient down this road.
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I think this topic is extremely interesting. It is scary to think that simply making a purchase can turn into an addiction and turn your life upside down.
ReplyDeleteThere was a True Life episode on MTV about two girls who were complusive shoppers. One girl put her family $10,000 in debt and the other girl is $15,000 - $20,000 in debt. They each have closets filled with expensive clothes that have the tags still attached yet they keep buying more. As you mentioned, the purchase can feel like a rush of pleasure, just like a drug adict would feel. Both of them sought help from therapists.
Here is a clip of the episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOvUbV_WWb0
I watched the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic the other day and found it quite amusing. My sons think I have that same addiction. I do like to shop and sometimes buy things without trying them on or putting a lot of thought into the purchase. My saving grace is that I do keep receipts and take many of the items back to the store. That way I fulfill the need to shop but not bankrupt myself.
ReplyDeleteMy mom works for a doctor who's daughter has practically put him in the poorhouse because of her shopping addiction. It really is sad. She goes to the store and buys stuff that doesn't even fit her and brings it home and stores it in her closet. A month or so later, she cleans out her closet and gives things away with the tag still hanging off. These are not cheap item either. She shops at high end department stores and only buys name brand items. Her poor mother and father have recently cut up all her credit cards and made her start seeing a therapist. She tells the therapist that she shops as an escape from reality. Whether she has the money to pay the credit card bill or not she continues to shop because it makes her feel good about herself.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of a shopping addiction in such detail. I never realized that depression and anxiety could lead to a shopping addiction. I can’t say that when I’m in a bad mood or I am feeling down, that I don’t think to myself “I’ll take the day and go on a shopping spree,” because I do that at times, just not very often enough to call it a shopping addiction. However, I did see the true life show on addiction before and it is crazy to think that these family members had to sit down and have an intervention in order to attempt to control the person’s addiction to shop.
ReplyDeleteI always thought I was addicted to shopping but according to your post, I'm not. I just like the good feelings that come along with it and it is a great way to relieve stress and take your mind off things.
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