We’ve all had a “celebrity crush”, and “Celebrity Worship, Materialism, Compulsive Buying, and the Empty Self” reveals what can happen when that “crush” turns into an obsession. Celebrity worship is associated with “The Empty Self Theory.” a theory that suggests that someone with an empty self “is plagued by a loss of a shared sense… Continue reading Fashion Blogs May Be a Hazard to Your Health… Especially If You’re a Celebrity Worshiper!
Category: Compulsive Buying
More Male Shopaholics
Nobody wants to see the number of shopping addictions grow, even if it means making the genders balance more even. But shopping addiction is not a female-only problem, and opening up the dialog to men too takes away some of the stigma. Terence Shulman of the the Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending, and Hoarding… Continue reading More Male Shopaholics
Who’s a Shopaholic?
Is there a certain type of person who is at risk of becoming a shopaholic? We’ve heard of the phrase “addictive personality,” but it seems like there needs to be more research done on the way the brain works to better understand this. Right now we can say that men, women, and now children, who… Continue reading Who’s a Shopaholic?
Shopping Addiction, Not a New Phenomenon
Shopping addiction has hit the media in a big way this past month. But, believe it or not, there are still skeptics about this disorder. Naming historic figures who are likely to have been shopaholics (Marie Antoinette, Mary Todd Lincoln, William Randolf Hearst, Jackie O) as CNN has done might not be the best way… Continue reading Shopping Addiction, Not a New Phenomenon
Shopping and the Six Human Needs, Part Two
Remember Anthony Robbins’ “six human needs?” Let’s talk about the final three. These are connection, growth, and contribution. How can these help us understand shopping addiction? Shopping can provide some sense of connection with others: you’re engaging in a common activity, what you’re purchasing (a gift) is a way of connecting, or you’re engaged with the… Continue reading Shopping and the Six Human Needs, Part Two
Buzz Bissinger’s Shopping Addiction Creates Lots of Buzz
Buzz Bizzinger created a lot of it this week with his tell-all story in the April issue of GQ, a confessional about his shopping and sex addictions. A sportswriter who’s best known for his book Friday Night Lights, subsequently made into a film and a TV series, Bissinger grew up financially privileged, but he was… Continue reading Buzz Bissinger’s Shopping Addiction Creates Lots of Buzz
Buzz Bissinger Checks Into Rehab for Shopping Addiction
Earlier this week, Buzz Bissinger, writer of Friday Night Lights, confessed to shopaholism in GQ article. He admitted to a buying spree that ate up over half a million dollars in less than two years and that he was checking himself into rehab for his shopping addiction. But most compulsive shoppers are neither famous nor… Continue reading Buzz Bissinger Checks Into Rehab for Shopping Addiction
Battling Shopping Addiction
Easter’s almost here. For those who celebrate it, how good have you been about Lent? Did you try to give up shopping? If you have omniomania – yes, that’s the scientific term for a shopping addiction- it has probably been a rough time. Omniomania is the “most socially reinforced of the behavioral addictions,” and was… Continue reading Battling Shopping Addiction
A Day in the Life of a Shopaholic
If just reading Elizabeth Hartney’s fictional account of “the day to day experience of shopping addiction” on about.com leaves you feeling exhausted, try to imagine what it’s like to really have a shopping problem. Here’s a sample of what Hartney describes: Wake up and make yourself two cups of coffee in your expensive new coffee… Continue reading A Day in the Life of a Shopaholic
Eat, Shop and Be Merry? (Part II)
My first conscious awareness of the relationship between eating disorders and compulsive shopping came in the early 90’s at a national conference on eating disorders. Catherine Steiner-Adair, in her keynote address, asked the audience what we thought were the two major ways women had for dealing with the ups and downs of life. The silence… Continue reading Eat, Shop and Be Merry? (Part II)