Good News: Compulsive Buying Is A Treatable Illness
Can't stop shopping? You're not alone. According to the L.A. Times, one in twenty Americans buy compulsively, a destructive yet treatable economy-propping impulse control disorder.
If those seeking treatment are any gauge, compulsive shopping is an overwhelmingly female condition. Some 80% of those who come forward, say experts, are women. Koran says there's every reason to believe that men are just as likely to buy compulsively. But "men don't come for help," he says.
Gender differences are very real, however, in the tastes and habits of compulsive shoppers. Women, say those who treat the condition, overwhelmingly buy clothes, jewelry, makeup and gifts for other people -- largely objects of self-adornment they imagine will enhance their image in the eyes of others. Though many male compulsive shoppers are clotheshorses, experts say they are more commonly "collectors" of things -- electronic gadgets, CDs, watches, pens, books, cars. Men, says Koran, tend to have impulse-control problems around shopping when they feel agitated, angry, elated. Depression and boredom are more often the moods that send women to market.
For both, purchases bring a rush of relief from uncomfortable feelings: Patients frequently describe a "rush" of arousal and a release from the unpleasant feelings that generally build in the hours and days before a shopping expedition, says Koran. Indeed, brain-imaging studies have shown that even in normal subjects, anticipating a purchase prompts activity in many of the same pleasure-seeking circuits that are activated when addicts succeed in finding a "fix."
But disinterest, guilt and remorse tend to set in quickly. Their purchases are often stowed in the back of a closet or in a basement, their price tags never removed. The resulting ill feeling begins building again, and a compulsive shopper will frequently feel the need for another shopping fix. The cycle continues.
Perversely, our little non-recession could actually encourage compulsive buyers to binge shop as a way to distract from other financial woes.
Stanford and UCLA both have programs to treat binge shoppers, and there are 400 Debtors Anonymous chapters nationwide. Treatment encourages patients to ask six questions that all good shoppers should consider before buying:
- Why am I here?
- How do I feel?
- Do I need this?
- What if I wait?
- How will I pay for it?
- Where will I put it?
Shopping's dark side: The compulsive buyer [L.A. Times]
(Photo: Getty)
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Comments:
Sign me the fuck up.... NOAW!
(Also, do they treat packratness?)
@Gilbert: Easy, just firewall port 443 and *poof* there goes https and secure online shopping. Just remember that anytime you want to shop online, people will identity theft you! *Doom & Gloom*
Addictions are destructive and SELF IMPOSED.
i know people that fit this description perfectly. They shop for meaningless crap basically for the sake of owning it because it helps make them feel like their lives have meaning.
sad, i know.
Even more sad and annoying are those who compulsively shop to make themselves feel more validated about themselves and then insist on showing said items to everyone at work and insisting they are superior for owning said item.
Let's face it: we're a nation of shoppers. There is no cure.
This sounds like a great program - I need it now - where can I buy it!!!!
C'mon, c'mon!!!!
Paxil
It's a great feeling to know that you've resisted the retail temptation. You feel more in control.
For the past year I've been after a couple of bedside units - they were $450.00 each (about $200 US) and I managed to get them on sale (flawed but I couldn't see it) for $80.00 each. That was such a buzz that (a) I hadn't hiked up my credit card and (b) my patience was rewarded.
Plus after a year and still wanting them I knew I was buying well, whereas there have been times I've wanted somthing and then gone off the idea after a few weeks. Either way you win if only you have the patience. This instant self gratification we have needs to be reigned in a bit.
Having said all this I'm off shopping now. Wish me luck.
@donkeyjote: I love your name, donkeyjote. I laughed for about five minutes straight at the corny brilliance of it.
@stpauliegirl: At about 8:10 she says, "I don't want to stop getting high. It's the one thing in my life that doesn't bitch, that doesn't push me down, or use me, or anything else, and it makes me...feel better."
Someone should tell her you can accomplish the same thing with a goldfish.
My ex-boyfriend was the worst compulsive shopper I've ever seen. I was nice and understanding until he filled the house 4' high in crap in every room. Every spare moment not at work was (and still is, I'd imagine) spent shopping. He is one of those "it's on sale so I HAVE to buy it" shoppers.
It's horrible to deal with, and considering the EFFORT that it takes to shop I'm amazed that there ARE compulsive shoppers.
I spend all my money, but it's on things I actually want and use for a long time. In the eight months I worked, I only saved $500. I spent thousands on movies, music, videos games and other items. Thing is, I still like them and haven't felt bad about buying any of it. I still use them too. But a lot of people including my parents say I have a spending problem. I'm not exactly sure what to think.
That lady in the picture shopped til she dropped.
I do this with the flea market. I did it last weekend, when I was mad about something, and I wandered around in the flea market for about an hour. I felt much better after I left.
With a bagful of crap. At least it was cheap crap.
Why am I here?
How do I feel?
Do I need this?
What if I wait?
How will I pay for it?
Where will I put it?
Is anyone else afraid that if these questions were actually asked our economy would collapse?
Okay, I'm pretty sure that I'm a shopaholic, BUT I'm not in debt and pretty much never will be. I have (and probably will always have) the money to support my addiction. How will I ever "hit bottom"?
Yeah, the economy will collapse. A nation of cheapskates like me that DIY almost all the time, repair rather than replace, and purchases many things second hand would spell disaster. (Not that I don't have my OCD ways ... I do. The saving grace is that there isn't that much Animaniacs stuff that I don't already have, so.)
Good thing is that folks can still honestly answer these questions to justify any purchase.
- Why am I here?
To buy more crap!
- How do I feel?
Better after I buy it!
- Do I need this?
My life will seem incomplete without it!
- What if I wait?
What's wait? I want instant gratification!
- How will I pay for it?
The same way as usual. I'm sure one of these dozen credit cards isn't maxed out yet!
- Where will I put it?
Beats me ... I'll figure it out when I get it home!
Minor sarcasm aside, I am suprised the solution to this illness isn't another new pill. Or folks suing their local mall for their existance that allowed for such buying habits.
I think I've become a compulsive shopper, mainly due to the internet. I mainly buy guy things but lately in the past year or so, I've been purchasing things that makes me look and feel better. Cloth, Workout equipment, Tennis equipments, more cloth, personal care items, protein powers and lots of green vegetation to juice.
I've picked up on this crazy and is in the process of stopping myself from future unnecessary purchases.
I like going shopping without buying anything. Basically on my lunch breaks I check out gadgets and junk at Best Buy, browse the dollar store, check out books at B&N etc.
I hardly ever buy anything for myself. Is this also a sickness?
I wish they had a treatment program for compulsive dumpster divers.
@ahwannabe: Injure yourself on something unsavory, and you'll stop.
Curbside and craigslist freebies are still game, however.
One thing they do not mention is collecting video games. *shrug*
So now I find out I'm not only addicted to the internet, but also to shopping. The killer, of course, is shopping online.
May God help me. Sort of.