Prior to starting a family, I had an addiction that was simply hard to give up.
I was once a shopaholic.
After getting married, I knew I had to put an end to my addiction. There was no way I could go on with my shopping vice without putting my family into a big financial mess. My priorities had to change, and shopping, which once topped my list, had to be removed from it.
Also known as compulsive shopping, this type of addiction is already considered a disorder that affects any type of gender, race, age, and even income-level. A professor from Indiana University revealed that a shoapholic’s brain releases endorphins and dopamine when shopping, which causes the individual to get addicted to the activity over time.
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Before you declare yourself as a shopping addict, you must first recognise the symptoms of this addiction. As a former shopaholic, I’ll give you some of the signs of a true-blue shopaholic.
- You already have a mental list of what to buy next payday.– It doesn’t matter if you have electricity, water, or internet bills to pay since you already have a long list of things to buy for the next payday. After all, shopping is your top priority.
- Most of your material belongings are wants and not needs. – It’s alright to reward yourself of materials things and there’s nothing wrong with buying things that you don’t really need FROM TIME TO TIME. However, if majority of your purchases are still unused for the past three years, maybe there’s a need to re-evaluate your shopping behaviour.
- You’re already in big debt but you’re still swiping the card. – Shopaholics relying on credit cards to sustain their addiction can’t resist swiping even if they already have too much debt.
- Shopaholics tend to have relationship troubles – One of the reasons why shopping addiction causes strain on relationships is because the shopaholics tend to prioritise shopping too much that they put more of their time into the activity rather than spending it with their loved ones. Also, money is a major issue in most marriages and losing control of your budget due to shopping addiction can lead to fights.
- Shopping despite feelings of guilt- A study from Columbia University revealed that shopaholics initially feel guilty or sad after the euphoria from shopping. To combat the feeling, they go for the “high” that comes along with shopping despite the consequences.