In this economy, it’s not just ordinary people who are cutting back (orthinking they ought to). In January, newspapers reported that tennis star Serena Williams, who has won more than twenty million dollars in prize money, is forgoing her famous shopping sprees. An extravagant spender in the past, Williams has remarked that there’ll be lots… Continue reading Even Celebrities . . .
Category: Control Shopping
Serious Trouble—And Much Worse—For These Overshoppers
Overshoppers around the globe know fairly well the emotional and financial consequences of their compulsion—the guilt and secrecy, the credit card debt, the family discord. But they’re seldom aware of the slippery slope to more serious trouble that their habit may lead to. Four recent news items, from England, Scotland, and Hong Kong, underline the… Continue reading Serious Trouble—And Much Worse—For These Overshoppers
Strategy for Stopping Overshopping: To Stop or Not to Stop
Whenever you have the urge to overshop, explore your ambivalence. Ask, “What does my heart say? What would be good about shopping?” Then ask, “What does my head say? What would be not so good about shopping?” Take the time to refine these questions by making four lists: 1. the short and long term benefits… Continue reading Strategy for Stopping Overshopping: To Stop or Not to Stop
Recommended Reading: I Want it Now: Navigating Childhood in a Materialistic World Donna Bee-Gates (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
Scheduled for publication in January (Palgrave Macmillan), Donna Bee-Gates’ I Want It Now: Navigating Childhood in a Materialistic World is ambitious in its scope, depth, and mission. Bee-Gates forcefully argues that too much consumerism is hazardous to children’s health. She documents the rise in materialism in our culture (and throughout the world) and the risks… Continue reading Recommended Reading: I Want it Now: Navigating Childhood in a Materialistic World Donna Bee-Gates (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
Two Recent Drug Studies Show Contradictory Results
Two recently-published, identically-designed studies treatingcompulsive buying with antidepressants showed contradictory results. In one, the majority of patients using the medication reported a loss of interest in shopping and rated themselves “improved” or “very much improved.” When the positive respondents were then randomly assigned to either continue the medication or go on placebo, none of the seven who… Continue reading Two Recent Drug Studies Show Contradictory Results