Shopping Addiction (Oniomania): What Happens When Shopping Gets Out Of Control?

Nobody can avoid shopping — whether you need food, groceries, or a gift for a friend, everyone shops. Some people love it while others hate it, a small percentage of shoppers becomes hooked to the point of addiction. For my friend Amy, who never actually enjoyed physical shops, it began when she discovered the wonders of the internet. She'd spend hours investigating good deals and novel items, and she often derived as much pleasure from buying items for her friends and relatives as she did choosing things for herself. One watch would turn into 20 because "it was such a good deal".

My friend needed shopping to get a buzz, and she'd use shopping as a way to escape from real-life worries. But shopping excessively and compulsively also created them, as she depleted her savings and started relying on credit cards. 

What is a shopping addiction?

The current version of the so-called "psychiatry bible" doctors and mental health professionals use to diagnose mental disorders, the DSM-5, doesn’t include shopping addiction and other so-called “behavioral” addictions as a diagnostic category. At the time of its publishing, there was "insufficient peer-re­viewed evidence to establish the diagnostic criteria and course descriptions needed to identify these behaviors as mental disorders".

That means you can't officially be diagnosed as a shopping addict. However, compulsive shopping is a very real and serious addiction that was first described all the way back in the early twentieth century. Research has looked at the characteristics of a shopping addiction or — or  "compulsive buying disorder" as it's also referred to — and investigated who is at the highest risk.

Research has uncovered that:

• An estimated 5.8 percent of the US population will have a shopping addiction one time or another.
• A whopping 80 percent of people who suffer from a shopping addiction are thought to be women. This could be due to men hiding their shopping addictions better.
• People who suffer from a shopping addiction will experience terrible anxiety before purchasing an item, and then temporarily feel better when they purchase an item.
• Shopping addicts usually have other mental health struggles, like eating disorders, impulse control issues, and anxiety disorders.
• Most people with shopping addictions are younger, in their teens or early twenties. However, you can develop a shopping addiction at any age.
• Eighty-five percent of shopping addicts have debts because of their compulsive shopping.
• Finally, 74 percent of shopping addicts feel that their shopping is out of control.

Shopping addiction: What are the symptoms?

Addiction, in general, causes these behaviors:

• Using or doing the thing you’re addicted to more often and for longer than you planned to.
• Finding yourself unable to stop, even if you really want to, and after you try.
• Your addiction sticks around even though it has detrimental physical health, social, financial, or other consequences.
• Addicts spend lots of time thinking about their addiction. 
• They experience anxiety and emotional pain in relation to their addictions.

Shopping addictions are characterized by four stages:

• Stage 1: The Anticipatory phase. First, a shopping addict will develop an impulse to shop. They could either be looking to buy a particular item or just want to purchase something, anything.
• Stage 2: Preparation. In this stage, the shopping addict prepares to go shopping. The addict will investigate which items they would like to purchase, they might compare prices, and may plan how they're going to pay for their haul. In today’s world, this can also involve spending a lot of time browsing the internet. 
• Stage 3: Shopping. This is the stage where the addict actually gets to the shopping. When they are purchasing the item they will feel good and excited, just like someone who is drunk or high on drugs.
• Stage 4: The let-down. In the final stage, the shopping addict has completed their purchase(s). The addict might now feel disappointed in themselves, experience guilt and regret, and have an anticlimactic feeling. These negative feelings can be relieved by doing it all over, so they’ll want to go shopping again, and again, and again.

Shopping addiction: Can it be treated, and if so how?

The fact that many people who shop compulsively are well aware that they have a problem works in their favor. If you think you have a shopping addiction, definitely talk to your doctor. You can also:

• Try to set a shopping budget, and try your best not to go over it.
• Delaying can work well for people trying to stop smoking — they might not tell themselves they’ll never smoke again, but instead commit to not smoking over the next hour, or the next 24 hours. You might try this tactic, too.
• Get rid of your credit and debit cards and ask a partner or a parent to manage your money for a bit so it will be impossible to shop.
• You’re probably familiar with post-shopping disappointment and regret, so try to imagine that state of mind when you’re about to shop. This is how you will feel in 10 minutes. Do you want that? If not, don't make the purchase.
• Each time you could have shopped but decided not to, place the money you would have spent in a separate bank account — even better if it’s on "lockdown" so you can’t access it. Keep doing this for a month, six months, or a year, and when you’re done, see how much money you have saved. Seeing the money you saved can make you feel a sense of accomplishment and help you realize how much better life is without all those extra items you don't need.