Thirty-two-year-old Neera hardly found any me-time as she lived from one responsibility to the next. Between managing job, family and home, she had forgotten what she liked, how she relaxed and felt lonely and boxed in. But come weekend, she would go to the mall to check out the season’s sales or track online discounts to buy clothes. She would max out her credit cards as she filled her shopping cart with clothes that she didn’t need. She would wear the newest dress for a day and then swipe her card for the next one that seemed more attractive. It was not until she lapsed into financial debt that her family realised she had a psychological condition.
What she had was a shopping addiction, something which gave her a temporary high to escape negative feelings and find validation, similar to substance addiction. So much so that when she realised that she had lost self-control and depleted her account, she sank into troughs of depression. Only to repeat the behaviour again.
What is shopaholism?
This is also known as compulsive buying disorder, which is defined by a recurring, compelling and irresistible urge to acquire goods that lack practical utility and at a very low cost. This results in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity prompted by negative emotions, resulting in social, personal and/or financial difficulties.
It is an impulse-control disorder, sharing significant neurobiological and behavioural traits with non-substance addiction disorders like gambling.
How do you identify shopaholic behaviour?
Shopaholism might look like a lack of willpower or a love for luxury to the casual observer. However, the individual is trapped in a cycle, where the act of purchasing is rarely about the object itself. It is a coping mechanism for regulating internal dysfunctional emotional states.
Typically, the cycle begins with antecedent feelings of anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, or boredom. There is a mounting tension that is relieved by the act of shopping. A “high” is experienced during the selection and purchase of the desired object followed by a “crash” of intense guilt, shame, and very often financial despair, leading to a vicious cycle of repeated highs and lows.
What goes on inside the brain?
Shopaholism stimulates the brain’s dopamine-based reward systems in a manner similar to psychoactive drugs. In many cases, it co-exists with other psychological disorders, such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Eating Disorders. Compulsive buying can also be found among people with Parkinson’s disease or frontotemporal dementia.
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Unlike substance use disorders, which often have visible physical symptoms, compulsive buying disorder can remain a “hidden” disorder for years, causing financial and relationship problems. Debt accrues and many individuals resort to “financial infidelity,” lying to partners or family members about their spending habits. The chronic shame associated with the behaviours can lead to social isolation.
When the “shopping high” becomes the primary source of emotional regulation, the person loses the ability to develop healthy coping strategies for life’s stressors, leading to a profound sense of helplessness, worthlessness and hopelessness, and sometimes, even thoughts of self-harm.
What about treatment?
This requires a multi-pronged approach. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the gold standard. It helps patients identify their triggers (thoughts and feelings) which lead to spending binges, replacing them with healthier behaviours.
Some patients may need medications. Support group programmes like Debtors Anonymous provide a community of peers who understand the specific shame associated with this disorder.
Remember, if you are a shopaholic:
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Wait two days before completing any purchase.
2. Remove your email from retail newsletters and delete shopping apps from your phone.
3. You may resort to cash only to restore the “psychological pain” of paying, which is often absent with digital transactions.
When to seek help?
There are several signs. Frequently thinking about shopping to the point that it interferes with work and social obligations. Shopping is done to “fix” the mood — such as escaping sadness, anxiety, or boredom — rather than a genuine need for the objects. Sense of intense excitement or “high” while buying, followed quickly by feelings of guilt, shame, or sadness. Repeated, unsuccessful efforts to cut back or stop spending. Hiding purchases or receipts from family and friends and /or lying about how much you spent. Often buying items that are never used, or forgetting even about buying them. Significant debts or legal problems due to excessive spending.
Recognising that the behaviour is a cry for help is the first step towards healing. By addressing the internal void, rather than filling the external closet, a person can reclaim their financial freedom and, more importantly, their peace of mind.
(Dr Ajinkya is psychiatrist at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai)