It’s no surprise – life can be tough. Whether in work, relationships, or other areas of life when we are thrown a curveball, it is natural to want to find a way to cope. For some people, this means retail therapy. Unfortunately, shopping away your problems comes at a cost that is greater than what… Continue reading The Cost of Buying to Cope
Category: Money Psychology
Why Do Shopping Addicts Keep Spending Their Money?
According to their self-report, about 10% of all adults in western countries report themselves as displaying compulsive buying symptoms. How to explain the proliferation of this behavior; why does 10% of the western world continue to overshop in the face of debt, seriously compromised relationships, guilt, shame, anxiety and deteriorating self-worth? Ryan Howell, Associate Professor… Continue reading Why Do Shopping Addicts Keep Spending Their Money?
Lying About Your Shopping Habits to the People You Love
When your spending is out of control, it can wear you down emotionally and put a strain on your relationships. Even if it doesn’t come directly from your debt, it could be out of shame for your actions, causing you to hide your secret addiction from the people you love. If you’re embarrassed about your… Continue reading Lying About Your Shopping Habits to the People You Love
I Love You… Again!
For many people – especially women – a driving force behind overshopping can be the need for a wide variety of new and different products and stimulation. When you think about it, shopping can be a very stimulating activity and might be a key point for people who shop to avoid boredom. But it is… Continue reading I Love You… Again!
Are You a Shopaholic?
A shopping addiction can really sneak up on you. Many shopping addicts do not even care about what they buy as much as the feeling they get when they buy. If you suspect you may be a compulsive spender, step back and take a look at your habits. Do you spend money when you feel… Continue reading Are You a Shopaholic?
Stress Busters
So many of us are bombarded by countless stressors; it can be daunting to find a peaceful moment between the internal noise in our head and the external noise at home, at work, or on the street . To give yourself a dose of the calming chemicals that keep our thoughts and feelings at ease,… Continue reading Stress Busters
Fashion Blogs May Be a Hazard to Your Health… Especially If You’re a Celebrity Worshiper!
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!
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
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