The Chronic Consumer

I was doing some Google searches earlier today, and as one thing led to another, I ended up checking out some stuff that had nothing to do with my original search terms.

Anyway, I eventually started reading about “shopoholism” and people who are actually addicted to shopping. Some of my friends have occasionally joked that I’m a shopping addict because I tend to buy a lot of things, but apparently, I’m not even close to exhibiting some of the behaviors of people that really do have a problem.

Real shopoholics give in to impulse buying on a regular basis or shop to self-medicate when other things in their life are going bad. They run up huge debts on their credit cards, spend ungodly sums on merchandise they don’t actually need, and generally display other addictive behavior patterns.

In other words, if there was something like a drug rehab program for shoppers, these folks would be prime candidates. In fact, I read that there have even been clinical trials for a drug that is supposed to quell this type of impulsive behavior in people. Wow — I had no idea that compulsive shopping was such a huge problem!

Fortunately, I don’t think I fall into this category at all. I do buy things on impulse sometimes, but more often than not, my purchases are the result of careful comparison and research rather than a simple urge. Moreover, you can see from this blog that I usually buy small-ticket items that cost less than $50, so it’s not as though I’m putting myself in debt here.