> a person who shops compulsively or very frequently.
What Is Shopping Addiction?
Omniomania, compulsive shopping (or what's more commonly referred to as shopping addiction), is perhaps the most socially reinforced of the behavioral addictions.
We are surrounded by advertising, telling us that buying will make us happy. We are encouraged by politicians to spend as a way of boosting the economy. And we all want to have what those around us have –- consumerism has become a measure of our social worth.
Although widespread consumerism has escalated in recent years, shopping addiction is not a new disorder. It was recognized as far back as the early
nineteenth century, and was cited as a psychiatric disorder in the early twentieth century.
Almost everyone shops to some degree, but only about 6% of the U.S. population is thought to have a shopping addiction. Usually beginning in the late teens and early adulthood, shopping addiction often co-occurs with other disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, eating disorders, other impulse control disorders, and personality disorders.
Normal Shopping v. Shopping Addiction
So what makes the difference between normal shopping, occasional splurges, and shopping addiction? As with all addictions, shopping becomes the person’s main way of coping with stress, to the point where they continue to shop excessively even when it is clearly having a negative impact on other areas of their life. As with other addictions, finances and relationships are damaged, yet the shopping addict feels unable to stop or even control their spending.
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