When trying to accomplish a task or a goal, built up physical and mental tension can hold you back. Even if you’re just trying to enjoy lunch with friends or a phone call with a family member, you cannot be fully in that moment while you have tension holding you back. Be aware of how… Continue reading The Little Trick to Make Any Moment Better
Category: Mastering Your Emotions
Get In Touch With Your Spending Emotions
In today’s economy, people are actively gaining awareness of their spending habits. People who once spent money without worry are keeping track of their expenses as well as their feelings when making financial decisions. In studies regarding people’s emotions, when spending their money, there are two ends of the emotional spectrum. On one end, there… Continue reading Get In Touch With Your Spending Emotions
Alternatives to Emotional Spending
Andrea, the author of this blog, has been down the emotionally-triggered, over-shopping road and she is finding a new path for her well worn shoes. (No need for new Pradas here.) This blog shares some excellent strategies to combat that nagging old habit of being an out-of-control, emotional spender. Andrea suggests 1) keeping your credit… Continue reading Alternatives to Emotional Spending
Couple Divorces Over Wife’s Shopping Addiction
In a case demonstrating the world-wide nature of shopping addiction the Taipei Times reports that a couple has divorced over a “wife’s seemingly random but pervasive purchasing habits.” After 26 years of marriage the Taichung branch of the High Court declared their marriage defunct. The wife started buying bulk quantities of toiletries and tossing them… Continue reading Couple Divorces Over Wife’s Shopping Addiction
Health Care Reform for Overshoppers: The Centrality of Self Care (Part II)
In the last posting, we saw how important self-care is for the overshopper who wants to stop. We noted that overshoppers, who often juggle several roles, tend to relegate self-care to the back burner (or take it off the stove entirely), and we focused on anticipating, rather than reacting to, personal needs. Today, I want… Continue reading Health Care Reform for Overshoppers: The Centrality of Self Care (Part II)
Discover and Value Your Unique Spirit: A Crisis Is a Terrible Thing To Waste (Part VI)
This is the last of six posts (scroll down to see all of my previous posts) on how overshoppers can respond to the pressure of the economic downturn with a life-altering reality check. The underlying thesis is that compulsive shopping is a smokescreen, a hopeless attempt to distract the self from (or magically fill) unacknowledged… Continue reading Discover and Value Your Unique Spirit: A Crisis Is a Terrible Thing To Waste (Part VI)
Using Your Senses to Save: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste (Part III)
We’ve been exploring the centrality of self-kindness to the process of stopping overshopping. It’s the all-important lubricant that keeps the engine of change running smoothly. To say it more directly, it’s the stance that allows you to look clearly and non-judgmentally at your overshopping behavior and then choose healthier and more fulfilling alternatives. Thus far,… Continue reading Using Your Senses to Save: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste (Part III)
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)
Women’s Spending Behavior Linked to Their Menstrual Cycles
In a study that applies to some 40% of all overshoppers, spending behavior has been demonstrably linked to menstrual cycles. Professor Karen Pine, of the University of Hertfordshire, presented “Sheconomics: Why Women’s Emotions Cost Them Money” at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in April. Specifically, her study looked at 322 pre-menopausal women not using… Continue reading Women’s Spending Behavior Linked to Their Menstrual Cycles
3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping, Part 1
Are the current economic conditions feeling scary to you? Are you having to rein in your buying and having difficulty doing it? The current economic crisis can serve as an extra motivator, a support to help you stop overshopping. Almost all of us need to think more seriously about our own buying behavior now. It’s… Continue reading 3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping, Part 1