What is Shopping Addiction? |
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Have you ever started shopping and you couldn’t stop? Or bought things you didn’t need or couldn’t afford and felt bad but you still couldn’t control yourself?
Shopping is a major leisure activity in our country and people spend more time in malls than any other place in their lives except the home and office. It often provides pleasure and relaxation but for some people, excessive shopping can lead to a clinical problem called “compulsive shopping” or “compulsive buying”.
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Assessment Questions For Compulsive Shopping:
Do you feel overly preoccupied with shopping and spending?
Do you ever feel that your shopping behavior is excessive, inappropriate or uncontrolled?
Has your shopping urges, desires, fantasies or behaviors been overly time-consuming or caused you to feel upset or guilty or led to serious problems in your life?
If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions, you might have a problem with compulsive shopping.
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Compulsive Shoppers tend to be women (80% female) and usually begins in our late teens/early 20’s.
Research shows that roughly 5.8% of the country suffers from shopping addiction.
Definitions & Characteristics:
“Chronic buying episodes of a somewhat stereotyped fashion in which the consumer feels unable to stop or significantly moderate his/her behavior”. (Faber)
- Frequent preoccupation or impulses that are experienced as irresistible, intrusive or senseless.
- Frequent buying of more than can be afforded, of items that are not needed, or shopping for longer periods of time than intended.
- Evidence of marked distress, time consumption, significant interference with social or occupational functioning or financial problems.
- Does not occur exclusively during periods of hypomania or mania. (McElroy)
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Other Programs Include:
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