How to Treat Shopping Addiction ?

Shopping addiction is a problem that many people don't seem to take very seriously, but is a genuine addiction that can cause real problems across the sufferer’s life. In fact, like any addiction it can have an impact on those close to them to, and may need professional help in order to break this destructive habit.

Shopping addiction is classed as compulsive behaviour. The technical medical term for shopping addiction is Oniomania” but many refer to it as shopaholism. The shopaholic finds gratification in spending money and may be powerless over their urges to shop. In fact, some shopping addicts may go into a trance like state during a spending spree and may have little or no recollection about the shops they have visited or the purchases they have made even immediately afterwards.

Often buying things they don't want nor need someone suffering from shopping addiction may never even as much as look at their purchases again, as it is not the physical goods that appealed to them but the feeling they get as the shop. It is reckoned that the “high” experienced by the shopping addict affects receptors in the brain in a similar way that heroin or opioid used does.

Like any addiction, someone who is addicted to shopping may try and keep their problems hidden from others. They may shop alone or in secret to disguise the frequency of their shopping trips or the amount their spending. They may lie by a how much things cost, and will frequently hide receipts and even their purchases to avoid detection. Not having any actual money is often not enough to stop the shopping addict indulging in some retail therapy and many find themselves drawn into debt as they run up thousands on credit cards, store cards and overdrafts. They may also hide bank statements from loved ones as they try to cover up their addiction.

Counselling is at the heart of any rehabilitation programme for any addiction. Being a compulsive behaviour, shopping addiction responds well to cognitive behavioural therapy and other talking therapies to help discover and treat where the root of the addiction came from. Addiction is regarded as a progressive disease, and one that cannot be cured, as most people define it, but can be treated.

By halting the symptoms of this debilitating condition there is no reason why someone who suffer from an addiction cannot go on to live a life free from the compulsive behaviours that once consumed them. It can mean though that they will have to spend the rest of their life fighting impulse to return to their past behaviours which have proven to be so harmful in the past. This is where professional help can be invaluable as by learning to manage responses to triggers and situations that they might be tempted to revisit old habits, they can avoid relapse back into addiction.

If you are someone you know is suffering from shopping addiction then you should try and get them to seek help straight away. The sooner any addiction is tackled, the more likely a successful recovery is.

So these were some Tips on how to treat the shopping addiction.

Submitted by : This article was contributed by Marcela B., who is also guest author to Addiction Helper.