Shopping Addiction Treatment Options
Shopping addiction is known by other names such as the following:
The term "oniomania" comes from the Greek word onios meaning "for sale" and mania meaning "insanity." Clinicians often classify it under a range of disorders such as a clinical addiction, impulse control disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The 2004 book Handbook of Addictive Disorders by Robert H. Coombs even describes shopping addiction as a type of bipolar disorder. Like other compulsive disorders, shopping addiction is often triggered by a need to feel special. The failure of excessive shopping to achieve this goal in the long term eventually leads to a vicious cycle that ultimately becomes self-defeating.
A 2007 review of this disorder in World Psychiatry by Donald W. Black shows that Emil Kraepelin and Eugene Bleuler originally described oniomania in 1924. However, it didn't attract significant interest in the psychiatric community until the 1990s and is still barely recognized as a psychiatric disorder. Research in the last decade is just beginning to bring the recognition of shopping addiction up to the level of disorders such as alcoholism, drug abuse and eating disorders.
Excessive shopping becomes a shopping addiction when it impairs a person's life to the extent that it creates difficulty in meeting financial or family commitments. The 2004 article An Expanded Conceptualization and a New Measure of Compulsive Buying published in Journal of Consumer Research describes the prevalence rate of shopping addiction. The worldwide prevalence of this behavior is 5.8 percent, 80 percent of whom are women. Shopping addiction also affects 8.9 percent of the population in the United States.
The research in this article also shows that this problem is growing worse, with more severe emotional and financial consequences. The rest of the world is catching up with the United States in the prevalence of shopping addiction as the number of online consumer outlets increase. The Blue Star Foundation in Australia is currently the only non-profit organization dedicated to raising the public awareness of shopping addiction.
What Causes Shopping Addiction?
The 2010 book Impulse Control Disorders by Elias Aboujaourde classifies the causes of shopping addiction into personal and systemic causes. Personal causes of this disorder typically have their roots in childhood with failed relationships between parent and child. This causes people to fill the sense of empty identity with objects. Children who are neglected by their parents feel unimportant and have a low self-esteem when they grow up. Physical comforts such as clothing, luxury items or food help compensate for the loneliness they feel as adults.
The emotional support that these people obtained from objects as adults makes them much more likely to become shopping addicts due to emotional deprivation in childhood. Shopping addiction due to personal causes is linked to other general problems such as compulsiveness, impulsiveness and the need for control. It also seems to result from a search for identity in people with a weak sense of self when the purchases provide personal or social identity markers. People with other disorders such as depression and anxiety are especially likely to treat low self-esteem with compulsive shopping.
Systemic causes of shopping addiction stem primarily from social conditions such as the rise in consumer culture and the increasing availability of credit cards, which allows a consumer to engage in casual spending more easily. These trends give rise to the view that shopping addiction is a modern disorder. The Handbook of Addictive Disorders explains that the difference between healthy shopping and a shopping addiction occurs when the frequency and quantity of shopping progresses from positive self-expression to chronic or destructive behavior.
Is There a Cure for Shopping Addiction?
Shopping addiction doesn't have a known cure, as is the case with all other obsessive-compulsive disorders. Victims of shopping addiction must learn to think of their illness in terms of treatment and management rather than an outright cure. Dr. Black explains that no easy answer for shopping addiction exists, since proper treatment requires a long-term change in the addict's behavior. Remember that it's not too late to change your life around.
Therapies for Shopping Addicts (Shopaholics)
Michel Lejoyeux and Aviv Weinstein discuss the available therapies for shopping addiction in Compulsive Buying, which was published in a 2010 issue of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. They argue that individual and group sessions of psychological therapy are the most effective methods of treating a shopping addiction. The research of Lejoyeux and Weinstein shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy has the highest probability of a positive outcome.
However, they also suggest that the patient should first be evaluated for co-existing psychiatric conditions, especially depression. This strategy allows the therapist to implement pharmacological treatment for these conditions while treating the shopping addiction with CBT at the same time. The research of Lejoyeux and Weinstein also shows that shopping addicts who received a 10-week course of CBT experienced a greater reduction in compulsive shopping than those who didn't receive this treatment. We can help you find your way back to a lifestyle that is free of shopping addiction.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treatment
CBT is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy for the treatment of a shopping addiction generally involves patients examining their thought processes for the purpose of controlling their obsessive thoughts about shopping addiction. The form of psychological therapy also attempts to determine the triggers for compulsive shopping such as boredom or an argument with a loved one. The next step in cognitive therapy requires the patient to develop more effective skills in coping with these compulsive thoughts. For example, shopping addicts whose familial relationships trigger compulsive thoughts may also need to enter family therapy.
The other half of CBT is behavioral therapy, which helps shopping addicts alter their behavior by managing stress and developing better shopping habits. This type of therapy typically includes a specific plan for modifying the patient's shopping behavior with steps such as beginning a new hobby, restricting online browsing time and cancelling subscriptions to shopping catalogs. Behavioral therapy is generally a slow process, so the patient shouldn't expect to achieve each goal within a specific period of time. This phase of CBT may also involve substituting shopping for other activities such as talking to friends or exercising.
Other Therapeutic Methods
Additional therapeutic methods for treating shopping addiction include 12-step programs based on Alcoholics Anonymous, such as Shopaholics Anonymous and Debtors Anonymous. Compulsive shoppers often have significant financial debt, so they may also need credit counseling.
Residential Inpatient Shopping Addiction Treatment Centers
Inpatient treatments centers are most closely associated with substance abuse, but they're also available for patients with compulsive behavior such as shopping addiction. These facilities are often the best choice for shopping addicts who experience stress from their home environment or those who are homeless due to their excessive spending. Inpatient treatment also allows patients to focus on their addiction without distractions from other areas of their lives, so they can begin living successful lives as quickly as possible. However, not all shopping addicts require the intensity of inpatient treatment.
The Benefits of Residential Shopping Addiction Treatments
The benefits of residential treatments for shopping addiction include the presence of support personnel 24 hours a day and the opportunity to engage in a range of activities each day, including individual and group activities. The rehab centers also provide a variety of counseling and educational sessions. Remember that it's not too late to start turning your life around.
Luxury Shopping Addiction Facilities
Some facilities for the treatment of shopping addiction offer amenities that are typically available only at luxury hotels. These features include meals prepared by five-star chefs, private rooms, gyms and fine linens. You can find the best treatment programs for shopping addiction at these facilities while relaxing in complete comfort.
Executive Shopping Addiction Programs
Some executives are reluctant to seek treatment for their shopping addiction due to the potential disruption in their professional lives. Executive rehab programs provide amenities such as Internet access and cell phones that allow executives to fulfill their corporate responsibilities while receiving the best treatment for a shopping addiction in comfort and privacy.
Outpatient Shopping Addiction Rehab and Treatment Programs
An outpatient treatment program for shopping addiction allows patients to maintain their normal lifestyle by living at home and engaging in routine activities such as working. They also return to the rehab facility for scheduled activities such as therapy sessions, recreational activities and educational classes. Outpatient programs typically work best for patients with mild to moderate shopping addictions.
Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications
A 2003 article in Nature Reviews Nuroscience entitled "Retail Therapy" by Heather Woods details research conducted at Stanford University regarding the medical treatment of compulsive buyers. The subjects in this study were 24 college students diagnosed with shopping addiction. These students received treatment with the antidepressant citalopram, which is commonly sold under the brand name Celexia. The initial treatment lasted for seven weeks for all students. Sixteen of the students received an additional nine weeks of treatment with citalopram, while the other eight students received a placebo for nine weeks. None of the students receiving 16 weeks of treatment with citalopram relapsed back to compulsive shopping, while five students receiving the placebo treatment relapsed.
The researchers in this study suggest that citalopram was effective because it increases the level of serotonin in the patient's brain. However, other researchers question the use of antidepressants for the treatment of behavioral addiction such as shopping addiction due to the side effects of an elevated serotonin level.
How to Find the Best Shopping Addiction Treatment Facility
Call a shopping addiction hotline learn more about finding the best facilities in your area for treating shopping addiction. A hotline for shopping addiction allows you to talk to a live person who can recommend a range of treatment options. You can obtain insight into your condition and find information that will help you obtain the most effective treatment for you.
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