Have you ever found yourself walking through a mall, armed with excitement to hit the infinite stores and the desire to buy everything in sight? Us too! But if you feel the need to shop on a daily basis, and you must buy at least one item that literally gives you an instant pick-me-up, then you are a shopaholic. We’ve all seen onscreen shopaholics like Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw with her incessant need to buy Manolo Blahnik stilettos. But not too far from the silver screen, real-life compulsive shoppers equipped with the all-evil credit card land up in debt hell.
Taking Shopping to the Extreme
Everyone is a mall rat to some anonymous Shopaholics extent, for lack of fun things to do. Shopaholics, however, take their love for shopping to a whole new level. With today’s easy access to low EMI schemes it’s no wonder that they go berserk. And banks with their tempting offers of ‘free credit cards’ don’t help either. With just a click of the mouse, online shopping with attractive discounts becomes a breeze. Overbuying and debts are the price one has to pay for such comforts.
It has been proven that when shoppers spend compulsively, they initially experience a high, which is ironically later replaced with guilt. Studies have shown that it is almost the same as alcohol or drug addiction.
Confessions of a Shopaholic
“There came a time when I made excuses to meet my friends for coffee, and instead, went off to indulge in retail therapy. I was up-to-date with all the latest goodies available and simply had to have them,” admits a self-confessed shopaholic. “I realised I had a problem when I figured I didn’t have much money left to buy this really cute pair of Aldos. I knew then that it was only shopping that had the ability to make me happy, and it was going to be a big problem,” she says. She decided to nip it in the bud by limiting her shopping sprees to just once a month. She also sold some of her barely worn clothes at a garage sale. “I feel a lot better now, knowing that there are other things in life that can truly make me happy,” she concludes.
If you think you too are a mad shopaholic, here are a few ways to Help Yourself
- Categorically list your clothes, shoes and accessories. You’ll realise that you don’t really need to add yet another pair of wedges to your ever-expanding collection!
- Stick to your budget. Also, make a list of things you really require.
- Limit your visits to stores and online shopping sites.
- Find a hobby so that you can replace the induced high of shopping with a real rush of excitement.
Here are a few signs to know if you are a compulsive SHOPPER
- You experience a high when you buy something, no matter what the cost.
- You secretly go shopping and lie about the amount spent.
- All you can think about is shopping.
- You cannot decide between paying your phone bill and buying the latest GAS jeans.
- You sneak out from college or your workplace to shop.
- You feel the need to shop when you are upset.
- Your bank balance is almost non-existent.
- You still haven’t worn some of the clothes or shoes you bought 10 months ago.
Shopping is all cool, but only to the extent where it doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket. So if it is, it’s time to put an end to it!
