Shopping Addiction: The Psychological Insights

Rings of various types and designs gratify my aesthetic fancies whenever I see them on online shopping websites. These elegant accessories provide me with inexpressible bliss whenever I wore them during my younger years. Unfortunately, some of these had gone to oblivion for special reasons. Up to now, it is an irresistible fetish which I have to figure out if shopping addiction has caught me unaware wayback from my adolescence. Based on recent studies by the American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 or the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Health Disorders 5, being a shopaholic is not medically characterized as a mental disorder. Compulsive buying such as shopping is best described as an intense preoccupation in purchasing, measured by its frequency and the uncontrollable urge to shop. Although i can still control it. my burning passion to acquire  splendid rings never left my creative mind. Here are the signs and symptoms which could have had  haunted me at times to become an iconic queen of fashion.

Jewelry addiction is a form of compulsive buying.

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The prominent signs and symptoms of shopping addiction are:

• Spending more time in thinking about what to buy.
• Anxious prior to  purchases.
• Feeling of relief or euphoria after buying the items.
• Guilt or shame after feels 

Jewelries provide comfort and ultimate satisfaction in my life.

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Researchers say that almost 90% of women are affected with shopping addiction than men. Societal norms and gender factors  have significant roles in the demographics of different behavioral problems. Also, the age factor is a culprit of an addiction's early manifestation  particularly during teenage years.  Generally, a behavioral problem like collecting jewelries refers to an overall state of being which affects your health and wellness to some extent. These are brought about by conscious decisions which could not control the urge despite its detrimental effects. How do you become a shopping addict? Read the subsequent sections.

Compulsive buying is a conscious decision to desire something to gratify your wants.

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Shopping is an enjoyable activity which is functional for our economy and it is sometimes a reinforced behavior due to the presence of rewards. It emanates from our brain's reward center which includes the process of item browsing and final purchasing steps. Shopping addiction experts say that you might be prone to this behavioral issue if you belong to a family with mental illnesses and substance abuse addiction. 

Shopping addiction occurs when a person is suffering from anxiety and depression. 

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Also, people who are depressed could fall into the prey of compulsive shopping. Likewise, the  tag compulsive shopper usually belongs to a young woman with low educational attainment. Some shoppers who belong under this classification are commonly depressed, anxious and self-conscious.  Shopping addiction is their way of dealing with negative emotions. People self-medicate themselves by shopping, to temporarily forget about their psychological problems. The common signs and  symptoms of being a mall addict  are as follows:

• Anticipation- This is the urge to  shop and it runs in your mind without end.
• Preparation- Involves the plan of using credit cards, what to wear and buy together with the location of your spending spree.
• Shopping- An intense feeling of excitement sets in while going around a mall.
• Spending- Final phase of your act to purchase what you want, mixed feelings between euphoria and disappointment after the whole process has been finally accomplished.

Shopping addicts have a euphoric feeling while doing this compensatory activity.

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Shopping addiction does not integrate itself with individual wealth. If you are unable to curtail it, financial and marital issues might arise. To address this strain in your lifestyle, cognitive behavioral therapy is deemed necessary. This is a group or single mode of treatment which deals with identification of problematic thought patterns. In this scientific approach, a therapist teaches a client how to question destructive thoughts or ideas and their effects on a client's behaviors and emotions. After which the strategic applications of self-defeating techniques are being done. The core of CBT is to cope up with depression in a non-stressful manner. Debtors Anonymous, a famous support group has a 12-step program on how to stop unnecessary spending gradually. 

Shopping addiction can be treated by cognitive behavioral therapy.

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The lure and curse of shopping addiction have not yet engulfed my gracious nature. I have  patiently trained and motivated myself to live within my means despite of being an Imelda Marcos alter ego in many splendid ways.