Buying things when depressed

How to understand that oniomania has covered you? Pay attention to your emotions and attitude towards money: when shopping goes beyond the rare purchase of things or simple knick-knacks to cheer up, it becomes dangerous - you start buying useless goods on a daily basis, sometimes remaining without money even for the necessary things. This is how clinical disorder manifests itself. However, this kind of addiction, unlike chemical addiction (drugs, alcohol), has a trap: since the passion for buying useless things does not affect health (but only financial well-being), a person does not realize the problem for a long time. It seems to him that you can tie at any moment. After all, it’s enough just not to turn on the computer, not to click on your favorite application on your smartphone, not to go to your favorite store. Alas, not everything is so simple. It’s worth getting a little discouraged or experiencing stress - and now you are again “walking” through the pages of discounted goods. nine0005

— If you have found all the “symptoms of the disease”, it will be extremely difficult to cope with it on your own, — warns Tatyana Ushakevich. — The problem is that shopping has replaced positive emotions for you that you are not able to experience from other, much more important and useful things that have left your life. For example, you feel like a lonely person after a breakup or experienced severe stress after losing a close relative. These are serious tests for the psyche. Therefore, the most competent decision for a shopaholic is to seek help from a psychologist. When treating oniomania, patients are advised to avoid shopping as much as possible, get rid of credit cards, go shopping with a list of necessary goods and keep track of expenses (today it is convenient to do this using SMS notifications about debiting funds from a bank card and information about the account balance ). In addition, unscheduled purchases of promotional goods or items from new collections are prohibited. It is very important to plan and research the market in order to forget about spontaneous purchases, and also to accustom yourself to the idea that even a discount of 90% is not a reason to buy a thing that is absolutely useless for you.

TO THEME

Photo by Ivan Yarivanovych

According to doctors from the health insurance company Techniker Krankenkasse of Lower Saxony, oniomania most often develops due to lack of attention, feelings of loneliness and inner emptiness, the need for recognition and love, as well as during periods of depression due to separation from a loved one.

Almost all shopaholics note:

♦ low level of self-regulation. Such people have a reduced ability to compensate for unfavorable personal characteristics in order to achieve their goal. In combination with individual preference for the object of purchase, this can create addiction;

♦ thirsty for adrenaline. The body quickly gets used to adrenaline and begins to need even larger doses of it. In the store, you can also get a dose of adrenaline - making a purchase decision and possible disappointment are microstresses; nine0005

♦ illusion of power. It is not so much things for personal consumption that are bought as certain attributes of power, including in the form of the attitude of sellers to the buyer: respect, helpful treatment, flattering praise, branded shopping bags;

♦ the illusion of freedom and control over one's life. Oniomania removes depression and anxiety from a shopaholic, increases self-esteem and self-confidence - he can buy what he wants now, and not what was recommended or what is simply necessary. And a person gets a feeling of freedom from shopping, even if he does not need things. nine0005

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Psychiatrists recognize shopaholism as a disease - Gazeta.Ru

Shopaholism should be considered a separate mental disorder, German psychiatrists believe. With the advent of the ability to buy things via the Internet, it has grown to unprecedented proportions and brings serious problems to millions of people. Scientists hope that the recognition of this disorder will allow more effective study of it and the development of treatments.

Online shopping addiction should be regarded as a mental disorder, according to psychiatrists at the Hannover Medical School in Germany - for many people, the craving to buy things via the Internet has signs of compulsive behavior. They justified their position in an article in the journal Comprehensive Psychiatry. nine0005

Researchers studied data from 122 patients who sought psychological help because they were too addicted to online shopping. They had significantly more pronounced symptoms of depression and increased anxiety.

One third of the patients showed symptoms of addiction.

Scientists have not found a connection between the addiction to shopping and the sex, age or level of education of patients - representatives of different social groups were equally susceptible to the disorder. However, they note, the results of other studies show that young people shop online a little more often. nine0005

Unhealthy online shopping is not currently considered a separate disorder and is classified as an unspecified impulse control disorder in the ICD. This definition implies an intense desire to make purchases and receive goods. Shopaholics buy more goods than they can afford, clutter up houses and pile on loans, but they can't stop. And the Internet reduces labor costs for purchases to a minimum, makes the ordering process accessible and anonymous, which ultimately increases the risk of developing addiction. nine0005

Shopaholism affects not only the purse of an addict, but also his relationships with others - there is a great risk of quarreling with loved ones because of the abundance of purchases, thereby causing even more stress and ending up in a vicious circle.

"It's time to recognize shopaholism as a separate disorder and build up knowledge about how the Internet affects it,

," says Dr. Astrid Müller, lead author of the study. “Shopaholics buy things they don’t need, they don’t use. Over-purchases become a tool for regulating emotions - for example, they are made in an attempt to gain pleasure or get rid of negative experiences. nine0005

Moving shopping addiction into its own category will allow clinicians and researchers to develop specific treatments for the disorder, Müller explains.

"We hope that our findings showing the increase in online shopping addiction will spur further research to learn more about the characteristics of the disorder and find better ways to deal with it," she says.

“The euphoria of shopping is similar to the sensations of alcohol or drugs. In the short term, when your self-esteem drops, you feel insecure, shopping can help get rid of negativity. But dependence on it has many features in common with behavioral disorders, and it can seriously affect a person’s life, ”says Leon Marsh, director of a rehabilitation center for people with addictions. nine0005

When shopping goes beyond the rare purchase of trinkets to cheer up, it becomes dangerous - shopaholics daily buy useless goods, remaining without money even for the necessary things.

"It's definitely a real clinical disorder," he says.

Psychology professor Dr. Richard James notes that unhealthy gambling was only recognized as a disorder after 30 years of research. However, for shopaholism, such an array of data has not yet been accumulated. nine0005

“There's a whole debate about whether researchers are over-pathologising—that is, trying to cram something into an addiction that isn't,” he says. “You shouldn’t do this without thinking carefully.”

Shopaholism is also called oniomania. In Europe, this word has been used since the end of the 19th century, when the first symptoms of the disorder were identified. These include shopping without a clear intention to buy a particular item, wanting to buy things that are objectively unnecessary, looking at most items for sale, feeling depressed without going shopping regularly.

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