Are You a Shopaholic? 8 Signs You Have a Shopping Addiction

Are You a Shopaholic? 8 Signs You Have a Shopping Addiction

• Being a shopaholic means having an addiction to shopping.
• Shopaholics tend to go out and shop compulsively rather than having control over their buying impulses.
• While it may not sound like a rare problem, it is quite prevalent.
• 18 million people have an addiction to shopping in the US alone.
• A shopaholic has an uncontrolled need to spend money.
• Shopping is a recreation for most people but ends up being a mental health disorder for shopaholics.
• Sometimes the obsession is with a certain product or a kind of product, such as jewelry or shoes.
• However, it can also extend to any kind of purchase of objects.
• Spending money and buying things generates a high for shopaholics that is similar to the ones felt by drug addicts.
• If the brain associates the wave of pleasure with shopping, it will soon be compelled to repeat it.
• Still, there remains debate concerning the true nature of this problem and how it manifests with people.
• A popular societal view is that women deal with it more than men – a claim that has no scientific backing.
• The American Psychological Association (APA) does not even consider it to be an actual mental health disorder.
• Yet, people continue to suffer from a compulsive need to shop, whether it may be called a mental health disorder or not.
• They cannot get out of the habit of spending their money, even when it may prove to be harmful to them.
• Although some people can get out of it after a while, others find it to be a constant part of their lives and must struggle with it daily.
• Let’s look at what makes a person a shopaholic.

Signs

• The first and most prominent sign of being addicted to shopping is feeling the obsession to shop regularly.
• Shopaholics may spend money weekly or even daily, mostly without care for what they are buying.
• Another sign is if they go out shopping when they are under a lot of stress.
• Extensive stress manifests in different ways and people utilize all kinds of tactics to deal with it.
• Shopping is one of them, and a shopaholic might feel compelled to find relief by going out to buy things.
• Another prominent sign is maxing out credit cards and not hesitating to sign on for new ones.
• Not caring about their financial situation just to be able to buy more shows addiction to shopping.
• Furthermore, a wave of happiness or euphoria will follow each purchase which will become greater with each purchase.
• Moreover, most of the purchases would be unneeded or meaningless things.
• Shopaholics just need to spend money, no matter what they end up buying.
• Shopaholics can also tend to steal or lie to get what they need when they no longer have the money for it.
• They often feel no regret about their actions and continue to defend their shopping addiction.
• Finally, just like any addict, they find it hard to change and kick their addiction.
• They may return to it routinely.