A sometimes unrecognized (or unacknowledged) form of overshopping is compulsive returning. Here, the overshopper regularly attempts to undo her habit by taking impulsive purchases back to the store for a refund. This, however, is an extension of the problem rather than a solution to it. The compulsive returner fails to understand that in shopping, as… Continue reading Compulsive Returners
Category: Compulsive Buying
Weighing-In (Part 3)
Over the last two postings, we’ve been examining Weighing In, an important technique for sweeping away the financial fog most overshoppers are mired in. We’ve looked at four columns on the Daily Weigh-In Form—Item Purchased, Actual Cost, Necessity Score, and Necessity Cost. Today, we’ll look at the second column, Category. The idea here is straightforward:… Continue reading Weighing-In (Part 3)
Weighing-In (Part 2)
We may think our wants equal our needs. In other words, that we just have to have a certain pair of shoes or gadget to be happy, successful, etc. While this can seem simple when we’re talking about basic needs like shelter and food, it can get murky when we’re looking at other items. Here’s an… Continue reading Weighing-In (Part 2)
Weighin-In (Part 1)
“Passionately confused,” which nicely sums up our current national conversation about health care,image also characterizes the personal financial grasp of most overshoppers. Few compulsive buyers have a clear idea of how much they spend and what they spend it on. (The incentive for their confusion is straightforward: it supports denial. As for the passion, it’s… Continue reading Weighin-In (Part 1)
Health Care Reform for Overshoppers:The Centrality of Self Care (Part I)
As the president and congress turn their attention to problem elements of our health care image system—notably, skyrocketing costs and inequities in access—it’s a particularly good time to remind overshoppers about their own health care. And they need reminding: research has shown that compulsive buyers are often woefully deficient in managing their health care, and… Continue reading Health Care Reform for Overshoppers:The Centrality of Self Care (Part I)
Activities to Reduce Your Need to Shop: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste (Part II)
In my last posting, I introduced the idea that the current downturn might just be a tipping point for overshoppers, that its economic pressure might shake them out of denial and drive them to begin stopping overshopping. That they do so is essential, because compulsive buying is a square peg for a round hole, an… Continue reading Activities to Reduce Your Need to Shop: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste (Part II)
Current Research
Astrid Müller, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher from Erlangen University in southern Germany, has been studying compulsive buying for the past six years. She’s recently published a study with several colleagues that replicated the finding of James Mitchell’s 2006 pilot study of a 12-session cognitive-behavioral group treatment with overshoppers. Overshoppers who participated in this group reduced… Continue reading Current Research
Consumer Behavior: Messages into the Void?
Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (Viking, 2009) . An old philosopher’s question asks: “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound?” An updated version, tongue-in-cheek, is this: “If a man speaks in the forest and there’s no woman to hear him, is he still… Continue reading Consumer Behavior: Messages into the Void?
Overshopping Overseas
According to Trinny and Susannah, the two stars of ITV1’s reality fashion show, now in its second season, Brits spend 30 billion pounds every year on clothing, much of which is never worn. In an effort to help British women who are compulsive buyers learn to spend their money more wisely and stop buying things… Continue reading Overshopping Overseas
16 Strategies to Curve A Compulsive Shopping Addiction
I’ve given you the three main strategies for stopping compulsive buying and curbing a shopping addiction. Now, I want to share with you some more tips to stop overshopping, things to think about, and questions to ask yourself if you think you’re at rick of developing a compulsive shopping addiction. First, keep in mind the… Continue reading 16 Strategies to Curve A Compulsive Shopping Addiction