Counselling Central

According to a recent study 6 percent of the population match the profile of a compulsive shopper. What is the profile?

Compulsive shoppers abuse credit and spend money that they don’t have on things they don’t need, or really want, will unlikely use and can’t afford. Their behaviour creates financial problems for themselves and their families. Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD) describes any obsession with shopping that causes adverse consequences. Sufferers often describe feelings of pre-purchase tension or anxiety followed by a sense of relief when the purchase has been made.

CBD was first recognised in the early part of the twentieth century by Bleuler and Kraepelin who described sufferers as, “buying maniacs (oniomaniacs) in whom even buying is compulsive and leads to senseless contraction of debts with continuous delay of payment until a catastrophe clears the situation a little – a little but never altogether because they never admit to their debts”.

Stanford University recently conducted a study, using a telephone survey, in an attempt to find out how deep the problem runs in western society. They asked people about a number of behaviours that are associated with compulsive shopping, and the results between genders were surprising. Stereotypically women are often believed to be compulsive shoppers (one poll suggested as high as 80%), or at least they are more likely to admit it and seek help. The study found that this stereotype is completely incorrect. In fact the numbers are equal. The experimenters at Stanford also discovered that compulsive shopping is connected with depression and anxiety amongst those questioned. This leads to the question do people become compulsive shoppers because they are depressed, or do they become depressed because of their compulsive shopping?

Research has found that CBD usually begins in late teenage years and early twenties. As well as anxiety and depression it has been linked with substance abuse and eating disorders. Successful treatments include the use of anti-depressants, working with counsellors and communities such as debtors anonymous.