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Whenever I talk about compulsive buying and get the feeling, either from some nonverbal cue or from what my listener actually says, that he or she just doesn’t see the dangers, I cringe. “That’s an addiction?” one asks. “Are there really that many people who do this?” queries another. “It’s not serious like an eating… Continue reading Compulsive Buying Disorder Can Be Deadly

2013 Media Coverage of Compulsive Buying CBS News (December 15th, 2013) How a great sale affects your brain CNBC (December 6th, 2013) Shop Under the Influence at Clothing Store Bars Huffington Post (December 2nd, 2013) 15 Signs You are Hopelessly Addicted to Online Shopping Reader’s Digest (November 23rd, 2013) Top Psychology Tricks to Spend Less… Continue reading Related Blogs / Articles / 2013

You’re cordially invited to a free teleseminar that Marcela Torres, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator of Stopping Overshopping, LLC, Jeannie Elder, LMHC, NCC, and I will be giving on March 2, 2017 at 9 p.m., Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific. During this free teleseminar, we will discuss: 1. How to determine if you really have a shopping problem. 2.… Continue reading Free Teleseminar: Have You Tried To Stop Overshopping, But Failed, Over and Over Again?

12-Week Shopping Addiction Telecoaching Group Are You Concerned About Your Shopping and Spending? If the Answer is Yes, We Can Help. Here’s how: The focus of the 12-week Shopping AddictionTelecoaching Group is on providing help for shopping addiction through changing problematic buying behavior. The program employs a wide array of techniques to achieve this goal. You’ll… Continue reading Help For Shopping Addiction Telecoaching Group

I’ve heard holiday come-ons before, but these take the cake. Last week, a friend told me that a few years ago, in the midst of the holiday season, she received a circular in the mail with the words “Merry Shopping, and a Happy New Car” bolded, italicized, in big red and green block letters, splayed… Continue reading Merry Shopping and a Happy New Car?

Download your matrix here   Your Decisional Balance Matrix: Take your time and write what comes to mind now. Whenever you think of additional costs or benefits, add them to this living document. If I Stop Overshopping If I Continue Overshopping Short-Term Benefits  (1)                  (2) Long-Term Benefits… Continue reading Decisional Balance Matrix

If you’re a shopping addict and a procrastinator, these two activities are probably linked. Think about when you indulge in your shopping addiction. Is it when you’re particularly stressed out about something? Avoidance behavior is the more clinical term for procrastination; it’s what we do to avoid something stressful. Maybe you’re doing online shopping when… Continue reading Shopping Addiction: Avoidance Behavior

Shopping addictions can be different from other addictions, in that the line between normal behavior and addictive behavior may not only be a fine one, but hard to spot. Additionally, the signs of addiction can even exist to a certain extent before a full on addiction develops. For example, a recent survey finds that over 30… Continue reading Shopping Addiction Statistics

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

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?