I just read in the latest Time Magazine an article about addictions that says 1 out of 20 Americans are addicted to compulsive shopping. (The statistic I am quoting seems to only show up in the print version, not online.) That means that out of the approximately 1000 feed subscribers to this very blog, potentially 50 of you could suffer from this problem, and if not, you may know someone who does. We certainly see this addiction more often in our work as Professional Organizers. If you take our diet analogy to heart, compulsive shopping is like the "binge eating" of disorganization. It could be putting on a lot of Clutter-Pounds to your home, and causing a lot of other problems as well.
According to the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, here are some behaviors that indicate a compulsive shopping problem. If you identify with four or more of these behaviors, you may want to think about getting some counseling:
- Shopping or spending money as a result of feeling disappointed, angry or scared
- Shopping or spending habits causing emotional distress in one’s life
- Having arguments with others about one’s shopping or spending habits
- Feeling lost without credit cards
- Buying items on credit that would not be bought with cash
- Feeling a rush of euphoria and anxiety when spending money
- Feeling guilty, ashamed, embarrassed or confused after shopping or spending money
- Lying to others about purchases made or how much money was spent
- Thinking excessively about money
- Spending a lot of time juggling accounts or bills to accommodate spending
If you think you may have a problem, I hope you’ll get some help and get to the root of why you are getting comfort from buying. And in the process, maybe we can help you deal with the clutter that has resulted. You may be able to return some items if the tags are still on them, and you may be able to turn your stashed-away purchases into gifts for others. Do you know anyone with this problem? We’d like to hear your comments.
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