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| Shopping Spree or Addiction? | | |
Dr. Pragya Khanna
Shopping is something
most people love to do. After all, everything around us seems to be saying, "Buy, buy, buy!" So...we do! Are you feeling bored and can't come across something interesting to do? If it is the beginning of the month, you will certainly have fun while shopping without deciding. You may end up making an abrupt decision by turning on the ignition of your vehicle and heading for the closest supermarket. At the market, you will drag out a trolley for putting the things you purchase and end up shopping some superfluous items. We usually find out the trouble only when we run out of money. Then, sorrowfully, we think it is an income problem.
A shopping addiction like drugs, alcohol or gambling is an obsession where the shopper is unable to see essential from non essential and over spend. They shop until they drop and run into debt spending on their credit cards up to and over its limit. Once, a friend of mine bought a gold chain because she was unhappy with her job. The addicts tend to spend money to compensate for areas in their lives where they are emotionally out of control or damaged.
Shopping for a lot of people is distraction from the realities of life and its associated problems. It is, though, but a momentary respite from depression, anxiety or loneliness. What a shopper never understands is that it is a false pleasure and after the shopping splurge the person ends feeling repentance. The unhappiness generally intensifies due to uncontrollable financial failure and debt. This is further compounded by the displeasure earned from family members or financial consultants. Believe me over 80% of the purchases are never used.
In a society that blossoms on materialism and acquisitiveness, compulsive shopping is frequently overlooked as a problem and may even be treated as a joke. Compulsive shoppers are often dismissed as being financially negligent. However compulsive shopping can be devastating not only financially, but also mentally and emotionally.
In order to set yourself free from this desire, let us figure out some of the reasons that drive you towards over-indulging. If you are aware of the actual reasons, then you might be able to pull your shopping frenzy within control.
Feeling Bored: The most common reason for shopping is to get fun and enjoyment, just imagine how thrilled you feel on finding some wonderful product in the color you wanted. Shopping grows into some kind of entertainment, mainly when it is done with a group of friends especially in case of all the ladies out there.
Impulse: Mostly it has been seen that people buy things from a supermarket that they don't even need. The basic rationale is that there is innumerate eye-catching stuff present in front of your eyes that you just can't resist the craving such as aimlessly selecting something that appeals to you or the items you want to try for the first time. Many of the shopping challenges can be related to this impulsive behavior.
Being In-charge: At times when one has with too much money in hand, the desire to go shopping is too difficult to control. For example, money gives an authority feeling to buy whatever you like. This temptation is more common among the youngsters who have freshly got this freedom. Until that time, they were restricted by the parental rule over their expenses. This is the main reason why they lack the sense of saving.
Anger: This sounds too strange, but a number of different reviews reveal that individuals get much satisfaction by going for shopping after getting a fight or argument with their spouse, parent or sibling. This is the case in which you are likely to use more cash in order to take revenge. So it is best to never move out for shopping when you are angry.
Rewarding yourself: There are innumerable occasions when we say to ourselves, "go ahead, you earned it" and end up using a lot of cash on something that appears difficult to afford. It is a great joy to get something peculiar for oneself however it mostly costs too much. These were some of the reasons why shopping turns into an addiction for most individuals. If we can properly curb this wish, then a nice sum of cash can be spared. However, a number of studies have revealed that we have certain hints all around us telling us if we had some thing, we'd be seen as more important, successful, doing well, loveable, booming or complete, etc. The signals come from family, friends, co-workers, TV, radio, the Internet or anyone who has influence over us. We generally spend to get that success feeling, sharing news of our insightful possession with anyone who will say, "oooooooo". But when the bills come in we feel even more imperfect and inept than before, starting the cycle all over again. Until we own the cause as something within us, we will never have a solution. The actual cause of compulsive shopping addiction, then, is that feeling of emptiness and low self-esteem. Solving this incompleteness is key to finding the solution to compulsive shopping addiction.
Holiday seasons can trigger shopping binges among those who are not compulsive the rest of the year. Many shopping addicts go on binges all year long and may be compulsive about buying certain items, such as shoes, kitchen items or clothing; some will buy anything. Women with this compulsive disorder often are seen having racks of clothes and possessions with the price tags still attached which have never been used. "They will go to a shopping mall with the intention of buying one or two items and come home with bags and bags of purchases."
In some cases shopololics have an emotional "black out" and do not remember even buying the articles. If their family or friends begin to complain about their purchases, they will often hide the things they buy. They are often in denial about the problem. While the causes of addictions like shopping addiction or gambling addiction remain uncertain, why addicts continue their destructive behaviors is better understood. Some individuals get a high from shopping (or any addictive behavior) which causes the sufferer to lose control and buy many items for which they have no need. Endorphins and dopamine, naturally occurring opiate receptor sites in the brain, get switched on, and the person feels elated, and if it feels good they are more likely to do it, therefore it's reinforced and soon they are addicted to shopping.
Compulsive shopping seems to be associated with:
n Emotional deprivation in childhood
n Inability to tolerate negative feelings, pain, loneliness, boredom, depression, fear, anger
n Need to fill an inner void - empty and longing inside
n Excitement seeking
n Approval seeking
n Perfectionism
n Genuinely impulsive and compulsive
n Need to gain control
According to psychologists, these behaviors can also signal a serious problem, check out if you have any of them:
n Shopping or spending money as a result of feeling angry, depressed, anxious, or lonely
n Having arguments with others about one's shopping habits
n Feeling lost without credit cards -- actually going into withdrawal without them
n Buying items on credit, rather than with cash
n Describing a rush or a feeling of euphoria with spending
n Feeling guilty, ashamed or embarrassed after a spending spree
n Lying about how much money was spent. For instance, owning up to buying something, but lying about how much it actually cost
n Thinking obsessively about money
n Spending a lot of time juggling accounts or bills to accommodate spending
It is important that addictions of any kind are snipped at the very root before they reach a point of no return. |
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