Shopping Addiction

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Shopping can be a necessary evil (as in my case) for some and it can be fun for some. But who are addicted to shopping itâ€™s neither. I remember one of my classmates. She is always looking for an excuse to shop. Although she got a good amount of pocket money from her parents, but it was never enough for her.

The addictive shopper shows all the signs of a drug addict, binge eater, alcoholic or any other addict.

A compulsive shopper is never in control of his emotions and failure to check their spending affects the other aspects of their lives too. Compulsive shoppers often shop while feeling depressed, lonely, bored or sidelined. Their USP is they will feel better after shopping. Their shopping spree induces the same euphoria as felt by a drug addict snorting drug.

They often overspend and purchase the items they wonâ€™t need. They lose the insight to buy within their means and are constantly in financial trouble.

Compulsive shoppersâ€™ relationships, family life, job and financial obligations suffer too. My classmate often had to play lost confused guilt ridden innocent little girl to extract more money from her parents.

I often wonder about my classmate. On the surface it seems, she has a loving, caring and supportive family. Psychologists claim that emotionally deprived people go on the shopping splurge and they are trying to fill that emotional void. Basically they are emotionally insecure people. But I have never felt that my classmateâ€™s parents deprived her emotionally. Then what turned her into a compulsive shopper? Was she a spoilt brat of an IAS father? But who says, brats are emotionally secure creatures.

But one thing is sure, compulsive shoppers need professional help, almost an absolute no no in India.

Comments

7 responses to “Shopping Addiction”

9/11/2006

Manish

Exactly, Alka. They are mental freaks, and they need help. In today’s age of plastic money, the disease has only got worse.

One of my friend’s wife is compulsive eater. I don’t they have realised, but it has gone on to the extent of disease. She can’t resist ice creams, chocklates. She skips meals, and gnaws on junk. She eats down whole family size brick in one day. Such people also need attention and more so because apart from Psychological harm, they are doing physical harm to themselves!
9/12/2006

prancer

hmmm…..you are right.
9/12/2006

Cuckoo

Well, I think they need professional help only when they can’t resist the temptation, be it shoping or eating.
One of my friends shops a lot and she loves any type of icecream and she also can eat one whole brick in one go. But , but, only when the icecream is available to her. She doesn’t go out of her way to have it, neither she makes shopping a compulsory agenda in her day-to day life.
So, Alka your friend definitely falls in first category where people should take professional help.
9/12/2006

Cuckoo

And my friend is a step behind. 😉
3/12/2007

betsy

but shopping really does make you feel better 🙁
as long as the shopper doesn’t go into debt then its fine.
3/12/2007

betsy

but shopping really does make you feel better 🙁
as long as the shopper doesn’t go into debt then its fine….
9/17/2009

Mark

Shopping addiction is dangerous since it can land you in serious financial trouble. People with low self esteem try to prove themselves and others that they are better buy buying things that are beyond their reach. Although this satisfies their ego momentarily, in the long run they face many financial problems which ads to their problem of low self esteem.