Are You a Shopaholic?

Lots of people out there (especially those of us with a double-x chromosome) love to shop. Shopping can be exciting, fulfilling, soothing. The thrill of a good find, the eagerness of owning something new. It's all a lot of fun.

But there's a fine line between a simple (and relatively healthy) love of shopping and shopping addiction or dependence. One is something you enjoy just like anything else in your life; just because you like to do it doesn't mean you need to be doing it all the time. But shopping addiction (or shopaholism, you might say) is something that you use to plug a hole in your life-- and that hole never really gets filled, no matter how many maxed-out credit cards you stuff into it.

When the economy's in trouble as it is today, and businesses are suffering, one of the things we hear most often from politicians is to go out and spend money. Spending money, they say, stimulates the economy and keeps the system cycling healthily. But just because going out and spending is good for the economy doesn't mean it's good for you (or for society, for that matter) in the long run. Not only can it take on an unhealthy focus in your life, but excessive consumerism is part of what has fueled the Earth's problems in the first place.

Funnily enough, even though irresponsible consumerism as we now know it is fairly new, the concept of shopping addiction has been around since the early 1800's, and was acknowledged as a clinical disorder in the early 1900's. Since then, not much has changed... except the number of people suffering from it.

What is Shopping Addiction?

According to some recent studies, about 1% of the population of the Western world has some sort of shopping addiction. In the United States, that number goes up to anywhere from 6-10%, and lies at about 5% in some European countries, such as Germany. And this probably doesn't come as a surprise, up to 90% of shopping addicts are women.

Sure, you like to shop. But how can you tell if buying that cute new top is perfectly healthy, or slightly obsessive? As with any other psychological disorder, there are definite warning signs that will tell you whether or not your desire to shop is bordering on pathological.

When making a purchase, shopping addicts are completely compulsive; they have repeated episodes of excessive consumerism, where the shopping itself is more the focus than the items purchased. Having or using any particular good or service isn't a shopaholic's main objective; they simply have an intense impulse they cannot control. In general, people with shopping addictions are fully aware of their irresponsible behavior; they know they don't need and shouldn't buy a particular item, but their compulsion is too strong to resist.

If you have any doubts about whether or not shopping addiction is a real disorder, the withdrawal symptoms when patients don't get their "fix," should set them to rest. Shopaholics who are in withdrawal from their obsession might experience tremors, anxiety or irritation, sweating, depression, or an inability to concentrate. Pretty similar to what a cigarette smoker or any other addicted person might experience.

Some experts believe that shopping addiction, though it doesn't produce the psychoactive substances and/or physical withdrawal symptoms of your standard physical addiction, is clearly an addiction (even if only a behavioral one). Others believe that it is more similar to obsessive compulsive disorder, binge eating disorder, or even kleptomania, and is more about a lack of impulse control than real addiction.

Shopping Wisely

It's true that spending money is good for the economy in the short run. But if you're seeing your spending habits get out of hand, there is more than one good reason to rein your spending in. Not only is obsessive shopping bad for the environment (the manufacture of your average t-shirt releases a lot of C02 and other harmful chemicals into the air), but it's also bad for your mental health.

The best way to shop? Find what you like, purchase it, and enjoy it. But remember that the final goal of any shopping you do should be ownership of a particular object. And keep in mind that you probably don't need as many things as you think. With a little practice, it's perfectly possible to feel happy, healthy, and valued no matter how many or how few possessions you own.

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