Up to 6% of the population suffers from shopping compulsion or addiction.
When you consider a new purchase, you're anticipating a reward. Once the purchase is made, the reward pathway of your brain lights up, and dopamine floods your system. Once it wears off, you crave it again. That is why it makes sense that we shop for celebrating and for feeling good.
Learn the definition of compulsive behaviors and how they differ from addictions and habits, and what separates these from obsessive compulsive disorder.
A compulsion is an overwhelming desire to do something. An addiction is a physical or chemical dependence on a substance or behaviour.
Two key differences between compulsion and addiction:
Pleasure. Compulsive behaviours rarely result in feelings of pleasure. People with addictions desire the substance or behaviour because they expect to enjoy it.
Awareness: People with compulsive disorders are typically aware of their behaviours and bothered by the lack of logical reason for doing them. People with addictions are unaware of or unconcerned about the negative consequences of their actions.
Habits are repeated actions that must be consciously initiated. Eventually, the process becomes subconscious and automatic: for example, when you are brushing your teeth.
Unhealthy habits can become a compulsion or even an addiction. For example, the good habit of regular exercising can become an unhealthy compulsion or addiction when done in excess.
The difference between a compulsive behaviour and a habit is the ability to choose to do them.
Like many people, I've suffered from compulsive spending. A shopping addiction is a scary, dangerous thing. Here are some strategies I've developed to deal with my own shopping addiction -- strategies that may help you, as well.
Compulsive shopping is when chronic, repetitive buying habits have serious consequences and become a disorder, similar to drug addiction. Conscious spending is one of ways we can o...
People do not even know that they are addicted to shopping and are unable to understand the problem.
Their confused relationship with money is looked upon by them as a symptom of the other problems of their lives. Many victims feel lost and are unable to control themselves out of the addiction consciously.
Nir's Note: This guest post is by Dr. Marc Lewis, who studies the psychology and neuroscience of addiction. After years of active research, Marc now talks, writes, and blogs about the science and experience of addiction and how people outgrow it. Visit his website here. You've just obliterated the last seven or eight zombies.
Games are enticing because you might win but you might not. And video games do it so efficiently, because they ride the tide of computer technology. The balance between winning and losing is continuously adjusted, according to how well you’re doing, as measured in hits and misses, gains and losses, moment by moment. The sweet spot knows you, it finds you. It adjusts to you.
deepstash
helps you become inspired, wiser and productive, through bite-sized ideas from the best articles, books and videos out there.
Over 2M Installs
4.75 App Score
Deepstash is better on the app. Discover new ideas and get inspired daily.