Shopaholism: what is it and how to get rid of it?

A person evolves, changes, and mental disorders change with him. Shopaholism became one of the last to be included in the reference books of psychiatrists. A seemingly harmless activity - shopping and shopping - can disfigure the life of a person, his loved ones, and change his personality beyond recognition.

In the language of doctors and scientists, shopaholism is called the beautiful word oniomania. This definition comes from the Greek words "onius" - "for sale" and "mania" - "madness". So the problem is an irrational urge to buy something. At the same time, the shopaholic does not ask questions about the expediency of a purchase, its necessity, he enjoys the very process of making purchases. The positive emotions that accompany him become a kind of drug, addiction develops from them.

As a medical term, the definition of "oniomania" was first proposed in history in the 19th century by a German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, who and his colleagues were the first to draw attention to the strange behavior of some people in shopping centers and shops. Psychiatrists around the world agree that shopaholism is a mental disorder, and only representatives of the American Psychiatric Association for a long time refused to recognize the excessive morbid addiction to shopping as a disease. It was only in 2009 that American doctors first recognized that the behavior of a shopaholic is identical to that of patients with manic symptoms.

Statistics show that with the development of large shopping centers and large stores, shopaholism has become almost epidemic in scale.In Germany alone, about a million people suffer from oniomania, in the United States there are about 13 million such people, in the UK there are about 700 thousand such patients, in Italy, Spain and Scotland, up to 40% of women aged 15 to 35 suffer from one form or another oniomania. And the number of shopaholics is growing, because now you don't even need to go to the store to enjoy your shopping, it is enough to order everything on the Internet.

The consequences of shopaholism are very similar to those of alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction. This means that oniomania cannot be considered a bad habit - it is a mental disorder. Here are just some of the common consequences of an uncontrollable urge to buy:

• huge personal and family debts (a month's salary can go away in a matter of minutes);
• it is a crime of the law - shoplifting, fraud, extortion, prostitution, because a shopaholic in search of resources for shopping is ready for anything, like a drinker for a glass of alcohol, and a drug addict for a dose of an intoxicating substance;
• divorce, family breakdown, personal disorder and loneliness - and psychology is powerless here.

Sociologists and doctors have noticed that pandemic outbreaks of oniomania are recorded during periods of holiday promotions and sales. Due to the irresistible craving for purchases, the wife of the famous football player David Beckham Victoria had to mortgage her house for debts. Singer Britney Spears became a shopaholic, fleeing depression, into which she fell during treatment for drug addiction. Shopping helped her to improve her mood. But not for long. Very soon, large debts formed, Britney suffered a severe nervous breakdown and again ended up in a psychiatric hospital.

Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz is an experienced shopaholic, she brings the purchases home and doesn't even unpack the many bags. There is no need for this - the pleasure from the process is received. Newspaper tycoon William Hirst, who died in 1951, suffered from severe oniomania - he bought completely unnecessary things. The peak was the acquisition of a 10th century Spanish monastery in Segovia for $ 40,000 out of boredom. To deliver the purchase to the magnate, the monastery had to be disassembled into stones, numbered and sent to Hirst along a specially built branch of the railway.

Women are more likely to suffer from shopaholism, while age does not matter. The peculiarity of this mental disorder lies in the fact that shopaholics themselves proudly admit their weakness, they make themselves victims of addiction and easily demonstrate dependence to others. Alcoholics and drug addicts, it must be admitted, are more modest in demonstrating their addictions.

The reasons that can lead to unhealthy shopping attitudes are numerous. Doctors believe that the cornerstone of this kind of addiction is attention deficit, a feeling of loneliness, an empty inner emptiness. Shopaholics are in dire need of love, recognition, and fulfillment. Another common reason that German experts point out is a state of depression. A person can plunge into it due to a variety of life circumstances. And at some point, it may seem that shopping gives a feeling of illusory happiness, which is so necessary for depressed individuals.

Other reasons that make the average shopper an obsessive “no brakes” shopaholic include several factors.

• Reduced level of self-control. People who are carried away often do not know how to stop at the right moment.
• The need for an adrenaline rush. A real chemical dependence is produced from this hormone, and the more often a person "catches" adrenaline, the higher the need for it. Buying is a mini-stress, and it also comes with increased levels of certain hormones.
• The illusion of omnipotence and power. Notice how shopaholics choose to shop - they don't just take things, they take things that can be conventional symbols of power. In addition, at the time of purchase, the sellers are helpful to the buyer, praise him, respect and flatter him - in such an environment it is easy to feel like a more significant person.
• The illusion of freedom. A shopaholic respects himself, he has the illusion of choice, freedom of choice. It is especially pleasant when he acquires not what he needs, but what he “just wanted”.

The prerequisites that lead to the development of oniomania are also numerous. These are the features of upbringing in childhood, and relationships with peers in adolescence, and personal experience of love relationships. Quite often, shopaholics are people whose parents habitually saved on everything - this is how they break personal stereotypes, and incorrect attitudes borrowed from youth that “fashionable clothes make you more popular and desirable”, “money decides everything,” allow you to compensate for failures in personal life, childlessness, a failed career.

It is impossible not to note the social factor - we are literally forced to buy: advertising, promotions, sales and discounts for impressionable and in their own way unhappy people with a large inner emptiness are an outlet, and for entrepreneurs it is just a way of getting rich. Advertising obtrusively affects the psyche, indicating not only that a purchase will make a person happier, more successful, and give him status, but also dictate and shape tastes. This is massive manipulation, but many do not realize the simple truth - our consciousness is mercilessly manipulated. Advertising promises to improve well-being, life, appearance, gaining success and recognition. You only need one thing - to buy, and all problems will be solved.

How to distinguish a shopaholic from an ordinary shopper is an obvious and predictable question. It is not difficult to do this, because manic acts are characteristic of an addicted person. A shopaholic can:

• go to the store just like that, without a goal, without a clearly formulated desire to buy something specific;
• a shopaholic spends a lot of time in the store until he looks, tries on, touches most of the goods presented, he calms down;
• when a choice is made, a true shopaholic will not be able to answer the question of why, by what criteria he chose what he chose, he simply does not have a single objective valid reason for such a choice;
• oniomanians can study fashion magazines with great interest for a long time, while a cursory glance at such publications is enough for an ordinary person;
• a dependent person after a purchase can spend hours and even for several days discussing his purchase with others;
• if there is no opportunity to get to the store or make a purchase, the addict falls into a depressive state, characterized mainly by apathy - everything loses its meaning, nothing is interesting;
• those who are addicted to shopping do not know how to save money, they spend money at times to the last penny, not thinking about how they will live on.

After a day of shopping, when the euphoria passes, the shopaholic may regret the purchase, regret the money spent on unnecessary purchases, and swear that it will not be like this anymore. But the need for adrenaline soon makes itself felt again, and he again goes through the shopping cycle in a state reminiscent of a trance. When negative consequences occur - debts, divorce, condemnation, rejection by loved ones, the addict begins to experience signs of personality destruction.He falls into aggression, which is replaced by apathy, sleep is disturbed, there are problems with blood pressure, headaches, sleep disturbances, obsessions, hallucinations are possible.

Oniomania are different, but the division is very arbitrary. The ending of such a story for any type will be the same - loneliness, illness, dependence on alcohol or psychotropic substances, debts, a ruined life. So, conditionally dependent can be divided into several categories.

• The Conscious Shopaholic - understands the problem, does not deny that he is acting illogically, erroneously, is well aware of the possible consequences, but also knows that he will not be able to cope with the next attack of mania. Often uses weakness to relieve stress, fatigue, and finds an excuse.
• Spontaneous shopaholic - tries to control himself, he can even make shopping lists. But he will still pick up too much, justifying his actions with promotions, discounts, sales.
• Purposeful shopaholic - does not have an adequate perception of his problem, does not recognize it. Denies the consequences, perceives criticism as a manifestation of hostility. Spends every penny, cannot justify after an attack why, in general, he went to the store, what and how much he bought, and why he did it.
• True shopaholic - buys for the sake of purchase, sometimes without fitting, things do not suit him in size, but this does not bother him. The further fate of the acquired good is not interesting. Only the acquisition process is important.
• Latent shopaholic - a person does not recognize himself as such, he always plans purchases, and takes only what he has planned, but in huge quantities that exceed reasonable limits several times. They always have an excuse for this - there was a "buy 10 at the price of 1" or "the prices were so reduced that I decided to take it for the future."

You can get rid of oniomania, and the problem is solved in the same way as most other behavioral problems. First of all, you need to understand that shopaholism is not just a bad habit, it is a disease, and therefore it will not work just to take and stop shopping and buy everything that you like. A person cannot stop being ill at will. First you need to take their word for it - this is a disease, and it must be treated. Having understood this, you do not need to look for excuses, but you need to contact a specialist who can prescribe adequate treatment - a psychiatrist or a psychotherapist.

Various methods of psychotherapy are used to treat shopaholism. The doctor can determine the circumstances in which the urge to go shopping arises most often. Further work with the patient will be aimed at the point elimination of the causes that most often lead to a breakdown.

It will not be possible to cope with the problem quickly; it will take a long time to fight. In the second step, the therapist creates new, correct attitudes so that the person can change their view of the shopping process as a whole.

Psychotherapy necessarily includes working with the sensory sphere - it is important to reduce the influence of guilt, fear of loneliness, a person must learn how to properly experience negative feelings.

At this stage, sometimes medication support of the psychotherapeutic course is required - antidepressants, hypnotics to normalize sleep, sedatives. But medications will be useful only when their intake is combined with psychotherapeutic treatment. It is impossible in principle to overcome oniomania with medication alone.

At the stage of rehabilitation, it is important for a person to visit a support group, to learn how to properly and clearly plan their time, their budget, especially its expenditure side. If a person has the motivation to get rid of shopaholism, he can, the forecasts are favorable.

Prevention of the disorder includes a few simple, inherently, tips that all buyers should take note of, because a potential shopaholic lives in each of us.

• Always plan your purchases - whether it is a large purchase or a household “trifle”. Study the market in advance, look at models, prices, assortment. Have a good idea of ​​what exactly you want to buy. Try to find at least two places where the item is offered for less than the original price. This takes time, and it is this that will help avoid spontaneous purchases. Planning to buy something, do not even try to justify in your thoughts the opportunity to buy some additional accessory to the main purchase. You need an accessory - buy it later using the same principle.
• Remember that a promotion and a discount are not at all a reason to make a purchase. Because the product suddenly fell in price, it did not become more necessary for you.
• Don't shop for the future - there is a high probability that the thing will never come in handy.
• "New collection" - this is a concept from which, in general, you need to stay away. This automatically means high prices. If you want exactly a thing from the new collection, wait a little, in a month this collection will participate in the sale.
• Stop using credit cards. It is convenient to borrow. But it is precisely this opportunity that contributes to the development of addiction. Paying only with a debit card or cash will help you better understand exactly how much you are spending and how much you have left.
• Do not take large sums when leaving the house. Limit yourself to a minimum - for travel, for lunch, for food for dinner. So there will be no temptation to urgently buy your favorite dress from the shop window, past which you were walking.