Confessions of a Shopaholic

Lets just remove the stereotypical shopaholic hopping from store to store to pick up anything and everything piling up a hefty credit-card bill.  They come in all shapes and sizes.

The new analysis on Shopaholic addiction says that the intensity of the addiction can start with as low as nothing but just for fun but can also accelerate to as high as a serious addiction. 

“There are some people who are just total rational consumers; they buy what’s on sale, or what they need and nothing else,” said researcher James Roberts of Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business in Texas. “On the other end, there are compulsive shoppers who buy to their own financial ruin and to relationship problems and other kinds of debt; and then there’s the rest of us somewhere in between.”

“When it becomes our natural response to bad feelings or bad events in our life, to go shopping as a kind of retail therapy, it can really become a problem,” said one of the Shopaholic herself.

Are There Different Types of Shopping or Spending Addictions?

According to Shopaholics Anonymous, there are several different types of shopaholics, and they are as follows:

  1. Compulsive shopaholics who shop when they are feeling emotional distress
  2. Trophy shopaholics who are always shopping for the perfect item
  3. Shopaholics who want the image of being a big spender and love flashy items
  4. Bargain seekers who purchase items they don’t need because they are on sale
  5. Bulimic shoppers who get caught in a vicious cycle of buying and returning
  6. Collectors who don’t feel complete unless they have one item in each color or every piece of a set

According to Ruth Engs from Indiana University, some people develop shopping addictions because they essentially get addicted to how their brain feels while shopping. As they shop, their brain releases endorphins and dopamine, and over time, these feelings become addictive.

How to retrospect that you’re a Shopaholic? Ask yourself these questions and be honest to your self!

Is There a Test or Self-Assessment I Can Do?

If you are still trying to figure out whether or not you are a shopaholic, Shopaholics Anonymous suggests that you ask yourself the following questions. If you answer “yes” to many of these questions, you may have an addiction. The questions are:

  • Do you shop when you feel angry or disappointed?
  • Has overspending created problems in your life?
  • Do you have conflicts with loved ones about your need to shop?
  • While shopping, do you feel euphoric rushes or anxiety?
  • After shopping, do you feel like you have just finished doing something wild or dangerous?
  • After shopping, do you ever feel guilty or embarrassed about what you have done?
  • Do you frequently buy things that you never end up using or wearing?
  • Do you think about money almost all the time?

If your answer is Yes to most of the questions . Then my friend you have got a term for yourself! 

It isn’t fun to feel out of control or depressed about shopping too much. It isn’t pleasant to lose those close to you due to the arguments that may occur as a result of your shopping addiction. If you are, or a loved one is, struggling with a shopping addiction, it is time to get help now.