Shopping addiction? :(

GreenSaints

All the posts have good advice - it's just thinking to yourself when you feel the urge to shop that it would be even better knowing that you've actually got the money to afford if rather than feel guilty later (which I do!)

It's hard, and it can suck sometimes, but it'll all pay off (no pun intended!)

Also, when you loose some weight - stick all your old clothes on eBay! Save that money, and when you reach a target goal (say losing the weight you gained last year) use some of that money for an item of clothing you really wanted

Anyway - good luck, and keep us posted with your progress

rideandwrangle

Check out the list! It helped me choose which cards not to carry! :j

FinancialFreedom38

Hi ... I've only just got over my shopping addiction - 22 years after it started!! For me, it was definitely psychological/ emotional - I know people who stuff their faces with food or throw alcohol down their necks to block out the pain, the monotony or the unhappiness in their lives ... I used to stuff my wardrobe with clothes to block out mine and fill in the gaps in my life. Online shopping was my thing .... receiving a package was just fab, a nice little gift to myself.
For me, nothing could change the constant urge that I had to shop and to spend all my money - it's like I wasn't satisfied until it was all gone - I was used to living without any cash. In previous years I used to run up debt, more recently it wasn't running up new debt, just spending all my disposable income.
No advice could help me, I had no self control - sneaking in a quick purchase was like sneaking in to the fridge when everyone was asleep for an over eater. I guess I had an extreme case. I got a kick out of it - but I was only destroying myself. I also found that not shopping at all could work for a little while - but not for long, than I'd have a massive binge which always left me worse off.
Sorry that what I'm about to say isn't 'advice' as such ... but I'll share how I 'recovered' ..... After a few really bad experiences, where I hit rock bottom ..... including being unemployed for a year (and that wasn't the worst thing that happened to me) .... I slowly started to learn that if I could survive all that I did survive, then I was a valuable human being and that I deserved better than living behind the wall of addiction that I had built around myself - and that having 'things' and 'looking good' were not working for me anymore - and so the hold over me was broken and now I still do shop - but in moderation and not very often - no more internet shopping either - one time I used to shop online in the morning at work - shop at lunchtime - maybe online shop again in the afternoon, then shop again on the way home!!! Hang in there - if I can do it - anyone can !!

newleaf

Yes, there definitely is such a thing as a shopping addiction. You can go to your GP and ask to be referred for psychological therapy to treat it, and if you feel compulsive spending is significantly affecting your life, then I would encourage you to do so. Your GP will not make you feel silly. You should be able to get help easily, this is just the type of problem the government has targeted with the new Improved Access to Psychological Therapy policy, in which hundreds of new Cognitive Behaviour Therapists have been trained and employed over the last two or three years.





Edit to add: Crumbs, just realised how old this thread is! Never mind, my advice is still correct for anyone who thinks they have this problem...