Last week, I found myself repeating one phrase over and overagain: I have more outcome than income. Being in this situation isnot a new experience for me.
The problem is I buy too much. Everything warrants a shoppingtrip. When I have just finished taking a test, I say ‘Hey I’m goingto treat myself’ and I go shopping. When I get paid, I ‘treatmyself’ to shopping trips. When I am happy, angry, panic-stricken,sad, surprised, excited, sick, frazzled, sleepy, worried, bored ornervous, I go shopping. When Express and The Limited have theirseasonal “biggest sale ever” I’m there, and so are my friends as weencourage each other to buy clothes we really don’t need.
After coming home from an Abercrombie & Fitch redline salelast Friday, my roommate and I were confronted with this problem.We threw our bags on the couch and looked in the refrigerator fordinner. But all the refrigerator held was two boxes of Capri Sunand a door full of condiments. That’s when I knew we had aproblem.
We determined we may be borderline oniomaniac, and you may betoo. Dictionary.com defines oniomania, or compulsive shopping, as”a passion or insane desire to buy things.”
According to the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery Website, “In a society that emphasizes materialism, compulsiveshopping is frequently overlooked as a problem, often even treatedas a joke.”
The site said although most mental health professionals do notclassify oniomania as an addiction, the compulsive buyers doexhibit addictive behaviors.
Some signs of oniomania include: a tendency to shop and spendlarge amounts of money during times of depression or emotionaldistress, feeling a rush of euphoria and anxiety when spendingmoney, lying to others about purchases made or how much money wasspent, buying items on credit that would not be bought with cash,feeling lost without credit cards and buying excessive amounts ofitems that never get used, especially if they already possess theseitems at home, i.e. clothing.
Luckily, my roommate and I are not this far gone.
But the site said if left unchecked, compulsive shopping canlead to interpersonal, occupational, family and financial problemsin the shopper’s life. The person becomes preoccupied with spendingand begins to neglect their responsibilities to family members, tofriends or at the workplace.
And often, according to the Web site, “the extent of thefinancial damage is discovered only after the shopper or spenderhas accumulated a large debt that necessitates a drastic change inlifestyle to resolve.”
In May of 2001, The New York Times ran an article on ElizabethRandolph Roach, whose attorney argued the reason she stole nearly$250,000 from the consulting company she worked for was because ofa shopping addiction.
The article said, “A shopping addiction compelled Ms. Roach tobuy a $7,000 belt buckle at Neiman Marcus, amass 70 pairs of shoesat one time and become so enthralled with shopping in London thatshe racked up a $30,000 bill and missed her plane back home.”
Roach was sentenced to five years of probation, six months ofhome confinement, six weeks in a Salvation Army work-release centerand was fined $3,000.
I can’t see into the future, but I am pretty sure I will neverpurchase a $7,000 belt buckle. Many of us would not. But if youfeel you lack self-control with shopping, you should take steps tocurb your spending before you have to make a court appearance.
According to the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery Website treatment of compulsive shopping may be more complicated thantreating a physical addiction, such as drug or alcohol abuse,because shopping is not something that can be avoidedaltogether.
But a person can avoid the temptation to shop by making fundsdifficult to access or distracting themselves with another activitywhen there is an impulse to shop. These methods can aid intransforming a compulsive shopper into a shopper with a healthyappetite.