Shopaholics, Beware! Experts Claim Addiction To Online Shopping Is A Mental Illness

‘Clearance SALE’, ‘flat 50% off’, ‘buy one get one free’, ‘buy all at reduced prices’, these claims excite us shopaholics more than Leonardo DiCaprio, right? Or at least at par with him. But I have a piece of bad news for all of us shopping addicts.

A group of psychiatrists claim that ‘addiction to shopping fuelled by online retailing should be classed as a mental health condition,’ reports The Times, UK. The study ‘Online shopping in treatment-seeking patients with buying-shopping disorder’ published in ‘Comprehensive Psychiatry’ journal suggests online shopping addition should be officially recognised as a mental health disorder.

Researchers said that about 5% of adults in developed countries had some form of the buying-shopping disorder (BSD), reports The Telegraph. According to the journal, “BSD is characterized by extreme preoccupations with and craving for buying/shopping and by irresistible and identity-seeking urges to possess consumer goods. Patients with BSD buy more consumer goods than they can afford, and those are neither needed nor frequently used. The excessive purchasing is primarily used to regulate emotions, e.g. to get pleasure, relief from negative feelings, or coping with self-discrepancy.”

Psychotherapist reveals that some people diagnosed with buying-shopping disorder (BSD) take treatments for their condition, but with several brands and shopping arenas being available for customers with just a click, online BSD has become more prevalent. German psychotherapist Dr Astrid Müller discovered ‘higher-than-usual’ rates of depression and anxiety among those obsessed with online shopping.

For the study, researchers examined 122 patients obsessed with compulsive shopping and the sad news is, 33.6% of them showed signs of probable online BSD. This can increase the risk of ‘anxiety, depression, family issues, financial problems and clutter,’ quoted the study.

Oh well, this news is giving me anxiety attacks. Is it too soon to have a shopping therapy, well, just to de-stress a bit?