Merlin Monroe once said that happiness is not the money but shopping and items you buy. Is this true? Is buying really fun or just a heavy duty everyone must do? And where are those shopping limits that turn into mania? It’s quite strange, but shopping mania does not depend on money and although we mostly hear about the rich people, they are not the only ones who suffer from this obsession.
Psychologists have admitted that shopping mania has become an obsession of a new century and it can be dangerous just like the drugs and alcohol. The biggest problem is that this mania has all conditions for spreading because of the mass information media which day after day repeats: “The more people buy, the happier they are”, “Saving the money is behind the times”, “Spending the money helps to get rid of depression and makes you popular”, and so on and so on. This “ideal” image reaches us not only through advertising, but television as well.
What are the reasons encouraging people, especially women, to become obsessed of buying? In particular, this temptation can be caused by discomfort when material goods are needed in trying to forget problems and not expected situations. Other important factor of this psychological disease is uncertainty: if a person feels insecure, he tries to replace this feeling with buying something – process that allows him to lead and control something.
To recognize people obsessed by shopping mania is quite easy: in order to relieve stress and relax after hard work, these people go straight to the closest store. Two days after getting a salary, shopping maniacs have no money left and they are forced to start borrowing for purchasing. Stress becomes even greater and in order to relieve it, they buy again. If this entire story sounds quite familiar, you may have some problems with shopping. Don’t wait and visit your psychologist to solve this never-ending problem.