Posted By admin on 29.07.2010

Compulsive Shopping On the Rise on the Internet

For some, shopping is a chore to be completed and checked off the list of «to do» items: for others it is an irresistible adventure into retail heaven and a daily fix feels essential to survival. Compulsive shopping is on the rise on the internet and the consequences of overspending online are dire.

Shopping addiction is not a new thing – compulsive buying has taken its toll on unsuspecting addicts for many centuries from Henry VIII to Michael Jackson. There is certainly an undeniable thrill to buying new things and spending large amounts of money. Problems occur when squandering sets in and an outright addiction to the shopping rears its ugly head.

Someone who suffers with compulsive shopping or a compulsive buying disorder simply cannot control the urge to spend. Interestingly, the satisfaction derived from the purchase is short lived and the addict goes on to spend greater amounts and a larger number of items, many of them worthless and of no real interest to the addict.

Compulsive shopping online adds a sinister feature to a compulsive buying disorder. The advantage of shopping online for an addict is the limited risk of discovery by friends and family. A shopping addiction necessarily requires hauling large numbers of shopping bags home and it becomes pretty obvious that someone has a problem in a short space of time. However, compulsive shopping online is more discreet and may be conducted in private for considerably longer without attracting the interest of those close to the addict.

Most shopping addicts admit to purchasing only a small fraction of the items they buy. Often their main concern is discovery as they have no interest in letting go of their addiction until it is far too late. Many addicts to compulsive shopping online do not seek help for their addiction until they have exhausted their financial resources. Often a compulsive buying addict will return to their habit as their rehabilitation was never genuinely sought but only resorted to when the money ran out. The condition is a sad one as every member of the family is a victim of the cash fallout when it occurs.

Categories: Addictions
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