Among the list of addictions that haunt thousands of Americans, an addiction to shopping or compulsive shopping disorder is becoming increasingly common, especially with the approaching holiday season.
According to a Stanford University study, 23.6 million Americans suffer from a shopping addiction also known as Shopoholism. The study found that this disorder can be found at all levels of financial income status and is mostly found in women.
"It is estimated that around 10 percent of people who engage in any kind of behavior are addicted to it. This includes exercise, food, shopping, drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.," said Dr. Ruth Engs, a professor in the Department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University, who has conducted studies into shopoholism.
Many Americans have strong urges to shop but that is not what qualifies a person to have an actual addiction.
In a study headed by Engs, people suffering from this spending or shopping compulsion get a "high" when they go on these financially harmful shopping binges. The "high" that they get is much like one that a drug or alcohol addict would experience. After these binges, addicts have feelings of guilt or depression that overwhelm them due to the financial debt or the out of control behavior that they are practicing.
Studies have concluded that the same chemicals that control emotions and urges connected with other addictions are also found in people suffering from shopoholism. These chemicals found in persons with compulsive shopping or spending symptoms show that this problem, even though it is not widely diagnosed, is truly an addiction, researchers say.
Also, similar to other persons suffering with addiction, shopoholics have a tendency to hide the product of their compulsion. They will attempt to hide purchases and credit card bills that result from their shopping binges.
Shopoholics uncontrollably buy items that they do not need. True addicts have racks of clothing with the price tags still attached or boxes of gadgets that have never been opened. For shopoholics, the only means to cope with pressing issues or to relieve stress is to buy not just one or two items, but bags and bags of unnecessary, unneeded and pricey items.
For some people with this compulsion to spend money, the worst of the behavior comes up during the holiday season. Studies show that common blues that accompany the holidays, such as loneliness or depression, can trigger compulsive spending binges. Addicts easily blend in with the normal crowd of shoppers and use the excuse of the holidays to buy.
Shopping addicts' behavior is financially crippling and destructive. Research indicates this behavior is either a way for the person to escape her reality or is one thing on a list of the mental problems that the addict is not addressing. As with most other types of addicts, shopoholics are usually in denial that they have a serious problem.
Shopoholism is a true addiction that deserves more attention, said Engs, going against some that argue that spending or shopping splurges are not symptoms of an actual addiction.
Persons who feel they have any of these symptoms should seek professional help, according to a national compulsive-spending self-help group, Debtors Anonymous.
Debtors Anonymous is a free service to those who have problems with consistent debt. There is a 12-step process that helps people to take back control of their debt and what gets them in that predicament. The closest office for this group is in Nashville, but there is information available to help someone affected set up a self-help group locally or you can speak with a D.A. member online or over the telephone.
