Generality
Compulsive shopping is a disorder characterized by the irrepressible need to shop, despite the awareness of their uselessness or exaggeration.
Repetition of compulsive shopping episodes can lead to the person buying often and / or large quantities of items, as well as spending a lot of time in shops and department stores. In many cases, then, the purchased goods are destined to be immediately put aside or even thrown away. At the end of the episode, in fact, the person presenting a shopping addiction often feels deep feelings of guilt and shame.
Clearly, the repetition of this behavior can have serious psychological, financial and relational consequences.
The shopping compulsion seems to occur more frequently as a symptom of a previous discomfort secondary to mood disorders, substance abuse, difficulty in accepting oneself, low self-esteem and depression. In any case, the condition can be addressed with a psychotherapeutic approach.
Compulsive shopping is also referred to as "compulsive shopping syndrome", "shopping addiction" and "shopaholism".
The disorder was already known in the nineteenth century, that is when the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin identified for the first time the associated symptoms and defined it with the term "oniomania" (from the Greek "onios" and "mania", or "mania to buy what is for sale ").
Causes
As a rule, shopping is a "rewarding activity: at the time of" purchase you generally feel euphoria and excitement, as the brain releases neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin, responsible for the feeling of pleasure, well-being and fulfillment.
According to some psychiatrists, the alteration of the activity of these substances would cause various ailments, including the lack of control of impulsivity. For this reason, in people who have a shopping addiction, the temptation to buy becomes so difficult to manage.
People with this disorder, especially young women, initially buy for the pleasure of a new purchase. In a short time, however, this emotional state turns into a growing tension and the desire to buy becomes an irrepressible impulse. From this arises the compulsive purchase of objects of all kinds, which are often put aside (so much so as not to be removed from their packaging), given to others or thrown away. Furthermore, after an episode of compulsive shopping, the euphoria subsides and the person experiences feelings of guilt, anguish and shame, emotions that again require compensation that results in a new purchase. A vicious circle is established.
Compulsive shopping has pathological characteristics very similar to those found in substance addictions:
- Tolerance phase: it induces people who have a compulsive shopping addiction to progressively increase the time and money allocated to purchases, in order to relieve the tension they feel;
- State of "craving": it consists in the "inability to control the" impulse that leads to carry out the behavior, that is the compulsion to purchase objects in order to alleviate an unpleasant feeling and suffering;
- Withdrawal: produces a great malaise in the compulsive shopper who, for some reason, is unable to shop.
- Loss of control: the drive wins over the resistance of the subject, who will justify the purchase of an object as necessary, useful and indispensable.
In fact, it is still not entirely clear whether compulsive shopping is due to a series of irresistible impulses that are repeated over time or if it is a response to "obsessive" behaviors, which a person must perform to appease through a series of rituals, at least temporarily, of anxious thoughts or psychological disorders, such as depression.
What is a compulsion?
By compulsion we mean a particular action, often repetitive and inadequate. This sort of stereotyped ritual is implemented by the subject in order to reduce the anxiety and discomfort due to an obsession, that is a recurrent and pervasive thought that the subject he judges as excessive and inappropriate, but from which he cannot escape.
Characteristic behaviors
Compulsive shopping is a complex phenomenon: this repetitive and uncontrollable behavior completely absorbs the individual, with a significant impact on time management and finances.
The compulsive shopper lives with the constant thought of shopping and frequently buys beyond their means. The buyer feels the desire to make purchases regardless of the period of the year, therefore not exclusively during the seasonal sales (the phenomenon can be repeated several times a week). The people most at risk of developing this condition are mainly women aged generally between 20 and 30 years.
People with a shopping addiction are distinguished from those who practice it as a normal activity in the following respects:
- The act of buying is experienced as an irresistible, intrusive and / or senseless impulse;
- Purchases are frequent and are often beyond one's economic possibilities;
- Worry and the urge to buy cause marked stress and can interfere with work and interpersonal relationships, or cause financial problems (such as debt or layoff);
- The impulse to buy is directed towards objects that are mostly useless, very expensive or not really needed;
- Fulfillment is experienced in the act of spending and not in the possession of the object;
- In the case of bipolar mood disorder, excessive buying does not occur exclusively during periods of mania or hypomania.
Episodes of compulsive shopping tend to develop with a sequence of regular phases:
- The compulsive shopper begins to have thoughts, worries and a sense of urgency towards the act of buying, both in general and about a particular item. This first phase is usually preceded by unpleasant emotions such as sadness, anxiety, boredom or anger.
- The person prepares to buy by planning some aspects, such as the shops to visit or the kind of items to search for.
- The compulsive shopper is excited by the objects he sees, which appear useful and indispensable.
- Previously experienced feelings of excitement and euphoria quickly turn into frustration, guilt, shame, and disappointment with you.
Compulsive shopping is therefore characterized by certain emotional states, rather than by real needs or desires.
This induces the compulsive shopper to hide purchases from family members, to eliminate them by giving gifts or to throw them away to forget about them as soon as possible.
Possible consequences
The impulses that lead to unstoppable buying make the compulsive shopper a slave to his behavior: not buying causes severe anxiety, panic and frustration.
In the long run, compulsive shopping causes problems at work and in the family, as well as causing personal distress in terms of stress. The person with this problem may also be the victim of debt or financial meltdowns, separations or divorces.
The situation can escalate and even lead to suicide.
Diagnostic framework
To date, compulsive shopping is generally associated with impulse control disorders, characterized by the subject's inability to resist a compelling temptation that leads him to carry out an action that is dangerous for himself and / or for other people. This irrepressible urge is preceded by a feeling of increasing tension and excitement, followed by pleasure, gratification and relief; then, generally, such feelings give way to a feeling of remorse or guilt. This definition includes conditions such as kleptomania, pathological gambling and pyromania.
However, compulsive shopping has not been "officially" recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, so it is not currently listed under this diagnostic category in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders".
In any case, to understand when the desire for shopping turns into a pathological compulsion to buy, it is possible to pay attention to the following signs:
- The money spent is excessive compared to one's real economic possibilities;
- Purchases are repeated several times throughout the week;
- Purchased items are often useless and are put aside immediately after purchase;
- Failure to purchase creates crisis of anxiety and frustration;
- Buying behavior represents a new phenomenon compared to the past.
Since compulsive shopping often presents itself as a problem linked to other disorders, it is the specialist (psychiatrist or psychologist) who must evaluate the malaise present at the origin, then come to formulate a diagnosis as complete as possible and establish the appropriate treatment for the case.
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