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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
1:54 Signs of being a Shopaholic




• Being a shopaholic means having an addiction to shopping. 
• Shopaholics tend to go out and shop compulsively rather than having control over their buying impulses. 
• While it may not sound like a rare problem, it is quite prevalent. 
• 18 million people have an addiction to shopping in the US alone. 
• A shopaholic has an uncontrolled need to spend money. 
• Shopping is a recreation for most people but ends up being a mental health disorder for shopaholics. 
• Sometimes the obsession is with a certain product or a kind of product, such as jewelry or shoes. 
• However, it can also extend to any kind of purchase of objects. 
• Spending money and buying things generates a high for shopaholics that is similar to the ones felt by drug addicts. 
• If the brain associates the wave of pleasure with shopping, it will soon be compelled to repeat it. 
• Still, there remains debate concerning the true nature of this problem and how it manifests with people. 
• A popular societal view is that women deal with it more than men – a claim that has no scientific backing. 
• The American Psychological Association (APA) does not even consider it to be an actual mental health disorder. 
• Yet, people continue to suffer from a compulsive need to shop, whether it may be called a mental health disorder or not. 
• They cannot get out of the habit of spending their money, even when it may prove to be harmful to them. 
• Although some people can get out of it after a while, others find it to be a constant part of their lives and must struggle with it daily. 
• Let’s look at what makes a person a shopaholic. 
Signs 
• The first and most prominent sign of being addicted to shopping is feeling the obsession to shop regularly. 
• Shopaholics may spend money weekly or even daily, mostly without care for what they are buying. 
• Another sign is if they go out shopping when they are under a lot of stress. 
• Extensive stress manifests in different ways and people utilize all kinds of tactics to deal with it. 
• Shopping is one of them, and a shopaholic might feel compelled to find relief by going out to buy things. 
• Another prominent sign is maxing out credit cards and not hesitating to sign on for new ones. 
• Not caring about their financial situation just to be able to buy more shows addiction to shopping. 
• Furthermore, a wave of happiness or euphoria will follow each purchase which will become greater with each purchase. 
• Moreover, most of the purchases would be unneeded or meaningless things. 
• Shopaholics just need to spend money, no matter what they end up buying. 
• Shopaholics can also tend to steal or lie to get what they need when they no longer have the money for it. 
• They often feel no regret about their actions and continue to defend their shopping addiction. 
• Finally, just like any addict, they find it hard to change and kick their addiction. 
• They may return to it routinely.