Shopaholism - for people who suffer from it, sales last somehow all the time and they constantly buy a lot of things. Check what exactly is shopaholism, read what its symptoms can be, and find out what the treatment of shopaholism is.
Contents:
- Causes of Shopaholism
- Symptoms of shopaholism
- Treatment of shopaholism
Shopaholismseems a relatively new concept, but in practice it is not. The tendency to "compulsorily" purchase various things was described already in the first half of the 20th century (the authors of these descriptions were Bleuler and Kraepelin).
Shopaholism is sometimes called variously - you can encounter, among others, with the terms oneomania (from the Greek words "onemai", meaning to buy and "mania", meaning madness), oniomania (a term also derived from Greek, which is a combination of the words "onios" - for sale and "mania") or buyholism. In English-language, and professional literature, shopaholism is referred to mainly as compulsive buying disorder.
Not only the definitions are ambiguous, but also the criteria for recognizing addiction to shopping - it is primarily for this reason that it is difficult to obtain precise statistics regarding the prevalence of this problem in the population. However, estimated data indicate that up to 15% of all people may struggle with this disorder. The onset of shopaholism usually takes place quite early, in the second decade of life. This problem is much more common in women than in men.
Causes of Shopaholism
Shopaholism belongs to the group of disorders in controlling habits and drives. In another approach, it is treated as one of the behavioral addictions (in this group, addiction to shopping is along with, among others, addiction to the mobile phone, addiction to the Internet or addiction to playing sports).
As in the case of all the above-mentioned problems, also in the case of shopaholism it is impossible to say unequivocally what led to its occurrence in a given person. In general, the dominant view is that the development of addiction to purchasing is influenced by cooperating biological, social and environmental factors.
As for the first of these,This is primarily about irregularities in the levels of various neurotransmitters in the structures of the nervous system - it is suspected that too low levels of serotonin and dopamine may be related to the occurrence of shopaholism. Among the other factors that may contribute to shopaholism, the following are mentioned:
- the general tendency of a person to develop addictions (some people get addicted very easily, be it to psychoactive substances, the Internet or just shopping);
- the occurrence of addiction (in the form of shopaholism or some completely different) in the family of a given person;
- trying to follow the trends prevailing in the immediate environment (when a person moves among people who use only branded clothes or electronic equipment - wanting to catch up with them, such a person may start to buy more and more, and eventually develop an addiction to buying).
There are times when shopaholism is actually a secondary problem to a completely different kind of disorder. People rejected by people or struggling with difficult situations for the psyche sometimes try to improve their condition by purchasing various products in stores - the subsequent temporary improvement may cause the patient to undertake such an activity more and more often, and finally addiction to shopping.
Symptoms of shopaholism
Shopaholism is primarily associated with buying things in excess, regardless of whether they are needed at the moment or not.
It may seem that the fact that someone sometimes buys too much should not be a more serious problem - in practice, however, it is completely different and addiction to shopping can ruin not only the person who is struggling with it, but also her entire family.
The symptoms of shopaholism include:
- constant presence in stores and shopping malls (it may happen that the patient devotes so much time to shopping that he will simply not be able to properly perform his family or professional duties);
- constant planning of more and more purchases (thoughts about purchasing things can take the form of obsessions);
- buying things that a shopping addict basically needs absolutely not (e.g. a dozen or so pairs of the same sweater);
- allocating all your funds to shopping (it is not uncommon for a shopaholic stops paying bills or resigns from his favoriteclasses, e.g. a language course or travel just to be able to buy more things);
- treating shopping as a way to improve a bad mood;
- the emergence of euphoria-like experiences while buying these things, and a feeling of embarrassment or guilt after purchasing these things.
In the life of a shopaholic, only one activity can become the most important: buying. A person addicted to shopping can even get into a lot of debt - when their own funds in their account eventually run out, they usually have no resistance to taking loans from the bank or borrowing money from friends.
A shopaholic may also underestimate the needs of his own family, allocating even the entire home budget to his purchases. Just as the items purchased by an addicted person can be hidden by them, deficits in the family property are much more difficult to cover up.
Ultimately, a shopaholism can become a cause of tensions and quarrels in the family, but it can even cause the breakdown of a shopaholic relationship.
Also readHelpline for people with behavioral addictions
Reasonable shopping, or how to avoid shopping traps
Does addiction depend on gender?
Recognizing Shopaholism
The consequences of shopaholism can be very serious, so there is no doubt that this problem simply requires treatment. Before a patient is offered any therapy, however, it is first necessary to recognize the problem. A person experiencing potential symptoms of shopaholism should see a mental he alth professional - a psychologist or psychiatrist.
As mentioned before, there are no single, specific criteria for identifying shopping addiction. In the diagnosis of this problem, it is important to identify abnormalities generally related to addictions, such as the fact that when trying to refrain from buying, the patient develops irritability or anxiety, or that a man who previously had some passions and had a successful career suddenly neglects them completely and the only thing he starts to be interested in is buying.
Shopaholism can also be confirmed by losing control over spending money and buying new things despite the emergence of difficulties with covering their costs (i.e., in the simplest terms, e.g. the need to borrow to continue shopping).
If you suspect a shopaholism, it is worth going to a psychiatrist first of all. It happens that addiction to buying is only one of the patient's problems -with shopaholism may coexist, inter alia, depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders. In a situation where a shopaholic has any of these problems, a psychiatrist is able to diagnose it and propose appropriate treatment.
Treatment of shopaholism
In the treatment of addiction to buying, psychotherapy plays the most important role. Various types of psychotherapy can help the patient deal with this problem, but in general, in the case of shopaholism, the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is emphasized.
Treatment of shopaholism is not only psychotherapy - the patient also needs (and perhaps above all) the support of his relatives. Often there is a need to take advantage of financial advice - addiction to shopping, especially if it lasts a long time, may eventually lead to the already mentioned serious debt of the shopaholic.
Shopping behavior needs to be modified both during and after treatment. This may include, among others on the fact that the shopaholic would not go to shops with payment cards, but only with cash - this obviously allows you to limit the number of purchased items. A good situation is when a person addicted to buying goes to shopping malls with a list of things to buy, in addition, it is best when someone is always with him when shopping.
The process of getting out of a shopaholism and yes, it can take a long time. However, when the patient is motivated to overcome the addiction to shopping, and he can count on the support of his loved ones, the chances that buying will no longer dominate his life do exist.