Shopping therapy: how is shopping addiction treated?
Skeptical oldies continue to analyze the weaknesses of the zoomers they raised. This time, critics have drawn attention to the inherent shopaholism of some members of the younger generation. Teenagers, in order to get rid of wasteful addiction, voluntarily go to rehab. Rehabilitologists note that shopping cravings do not depend on either gender or age. Who is susceptible to shopaholism, how people fall into the trap of excess spending and what methods can be used to cure this scourge — in the Izvestia article.
How is dopamine produced?
From the point of view of psychiatry, shopaholism is a type of disorder, explained psychiatrist and sexologist Alexei Vilkov to Izvestia.
— In scientific terms, this problem is called "oniomania" — when a person has an obsessive desire to commit senseless spending and enjoys the process itself, — the psychiatrist comments. Spontaneous purchases release fast dopamine, the hormone of adventure and pleasure. A person quickly gets used to such a reward and at first really gets positive emotions.
— Then he becomes disillusioned with shopping, and then withdrawal symptoms begin: anxiety and depressive experiences, — Alexey Vilkov explained.
Such manifestations once again push the shopaholic to unnecessary expenses in order to at least temporarily drown out anxiety and depression and get positive emotions. The unpleasant process is gaining momentum.
Daria Serebryakova, a clinical psychologist and deputy head of the rehabilitation program at Dr. Isaev's Clinic, emphasizes that today oniomania stands out as a separate addiction, and special methods of assistance are used to help such addicts. The essence of shopaholism is a compulsive desire to acquire things, and the criterion is the same as for other addictions: non-standard behavior (as when drinking alcohol or illegal substances), disruption of the normal course of life, disruptions of its normal rhythm and structure.
— This is the difference between shopaholism and the usual love of beautiful purchases that delight us and our loved ones, — says Serebryakova. — With addiction, things do not bring lasting joy, do not improve self-esteem, quality of life and relationships. And they don't raise their social status in the long run, contrary to expectations. On the contrary, over time they lead to losses: financial, personal, emotional, and sometimes to a deterioration of the mental state.
According to Alexey Vilkov, the passion for shopping still occurs more often in women, because they are more emotional, prone to search for light dopamine, easily receive positive emotions when buying some unnecessary or bright things.
— Initially, a woman may have a good goal — to dress up for her partner, to please him, to surprise him. This desire, of course, does not relate to any problems. Men see this desire, notice it, and appreciate it. The effect of novelty is evident, and a new image can increase emotional attachment and attraction to a partner, especially if the couple is already in a long—term relationship," comments Alexey Vilkov.
But the situation has nothing to do with the desire to dress up, when adequacy and common sense are lost, and purchases are accompanied by financial losses and ultimately cause disappointment.
Children of shopaholics
According to Serebryakova, pure oniomania as a separate disease is quite rare. People usually enter rehabilitation for other reasons, and shortly before hospitalization, their symptoms are complemented by pronounced shopaholism. People of any gender and age are not immune from the unpleasant problem. Craving for things as such cannot be inherited. Another thing is that teenagers copy a pattern of behavior that has already been adopted in the family. For example, if you're sad, you need to go shopping. And here we can draw a parallel with an eating disorder, when a crying baby is bought a chocolate bar to calm him down. Only instead of a treat, they get a toy, and this is fixed as a method of self-satisfaction. Shopping is also becoming a way of entertainment.
— There are more opportunities now, a huge variety of products. You no longer need to plan a weekend trip to the clothing market. You can sit at home on the couch and maniacally buy things on marketplaces," the clinic explained.
Daria Serebryakova notes that men are more likely to make purchases related to the idea of status — for example, expensive cars, as well as investments "for the last money" that do not end well. And women spend money on cosmetics, clothes, accessories. But the ideals of beauty and status remain unattainable.
— In the late stages of addiction development, we often see a completely unkempt, unkempt person who does not even unpack the purchased items, let alone use them somehow, - Serebryakova comments. — All that remains in my head is the key mechanism of addiction — the fantasy that some kind of acquisition will change my life, fill it up, turn it into an "advertising picture."
However, in reality, everything remains at the level of another unpacked box. And even if a person is obsessed with the manic idea of beauty, he simply does not have the strength to style clothes, make up, go out, warns a clinical psychologist.
"With such attacks, a person most often experiences conditions ranging from emotionally unstable personality disorder to manic states with bipolar disorder," says a clinical psychologist. — Very often we see a combination of shopaholism with alcohol or drug use, or attempts to "independently" replace chemical dependence with purchases.
Serebryakova emphasizes that no matter what the diagnosis (even if we are talking about delusional disorders in schizophrenia), the leading problem remains emotional dysregulation, that is, the inability to manage one's emotions in accordance with the situation, and the overpriced idea that purchases can change lives, transform a state from a minus to a plus.
— This may work in the short term, but then tolerance is formed: more purchases are needed, and less joy from them. Frustration arises (frustration due to the unattainability of a goal), relationships are destroyed, a person may fall into isolation, aggression and a condition requiring medical intervention," continues Daria Serebryakova.
Experts associate compulsive shopaholism with the theme of loneliness. And even if a person is surrounded by people, addiction often indicates deep dissatisfaction with relationships.
— It is unlikely that a person who likes to buy gifts, go out, and please friends will not be interesting to others, — says Serebryakova. — But shopaholics who isolate themselves at home, spend hours reading product reviews and discuss only the topic of shopping when they meet — these are most often people who find it difficult to communicate. They have not developed the skills of healthy communication, boundaries, and understanding the needs of their own and others.
Against the background of such a deficit, the entire sphere of relations suffers: personal, friendly, and working. All this leads to chronic depression, loneliness, and frustration.
— People try to compensate for the inner emptiness with external attributes, but even the most beautiful things cannot "buy" love or fullness of life, — sums up Serebryakova.
How to be treated
Turning to psychotherapists in this case is not a fad or a fad. According to Vilkov, specialists use psychological techniques to teach patients self-regulation techniques so that people can receive positive emotions in an environmentally friendly way, without negative consequences. No matter how noble shopaholism may look against the background of other bad habits, but unjustified financial costs lead to serious consequences.
— Somatic manifestations — headache, tension in the body, sleep disturbance — manifest themselves along with mental (anxiety and depression). And they're pushing you to buy again," says Alexey Vilkov.
At the earliest stages, an unpleasant misfortune can be handled on its own, according to a clinical psychologist.
— This is possible through an effort of will and clear restrictions: do not visit stores, give up credit cards, set limits, ask loved ones to help with monitoring, do not read news about discounts, gradually get rid of things, set new goals for yourself, structure leisure time so that there is no time left for shopping. But it works right at the very beginning, while addiction has not yet destroyed the emotional sphere and relationships," Serebryakova warns.
If a person is aware of this problem, understands the negative consequences and risks, then he should seek help from a psychotherapist himself, Alexey Vilkov believes. The expert considers the negative consequences of shopaholism to be serious financial expenses that are dangerous for the family or personal budget, an obvious inability to control unhealthy attraction, and loss of volitional skills. The concern of loved ones who sound the alarm is important, seeing how addiction negatively affects the well-being of a relative.
What awaits zoomers and their mothers in rehabs and shopping on online platforms, who in the noughties bought pink blouses and jeans with sequins and still can't stop? Rehabilitation does not treat shopaholism itself as an isolated problem, but rather adjusts emotional self-regulation and communication skills, the clinical psychologist emphasizes.
— This is group psychotherapy, the formation of new values, learning how to be filled from the inside, and not through any external stimuli. In conditions of deprivation, people are given real boundaries: restrictions on compulsive purchases and excessive spending," Serebryakova comments.
Specialists work with the internal state, which leads to the need to buy up everything. The necessary cognitive behavioral therapy is based on analyzing one's condition step by step and setting boundaries (as in the case of alcoholics). A person learns conscious behavior. For example, he says to himself: "I don't go into a cosmetics store (alcohol market). I note in advance if I have any nervous or depressed state. And I'm trying to adjust myself before I compulsively run after the thing (the bottle)."
— In general, rehabilitation focuses on establishing self-regulation of the patient, regardless of the diagnosis, and teaching him to fill himself through communication, through internal resources, and not through external things. Outsiders usually mean drugs, alcohol, casual relationships, shopaholism, endless acquisitions,— explains Serebryakova.
Doctors set the task to teach the patient how to use things, not to substitute them for life, to spend quality and interesting leisure time, to do something meaningful and meaningful.
— This includes the ability to apply the things themselves: cooking, taking care of yourself, dressing, doing beauty treatments. And here, again, the key turns out to be skills, not subjects. A professional stylist is able to create something high-quality and stylish from a minimum of available tools. And a person who does not have the skills, taste, attention and patience can endlessly buy new things without learning how to use them," says Daria Serebryakova.
During rehabilitation, the emphasis is on activities: trainings, joint projects, cooperation, the ability to ask for help, working with one's own strengths and compensating for the weak, the expert emphasizes. In addition, restrictions are being introduced: it is not allowed to use a large number of expensive clothes or jewelry, girls are not allowed to use cosmetics or even let their hair down.
— After rehabilitation, financial boundaries remain — limits on purchases, expenses, and groceries. A person learns a full—fledged life in conditions of healthy asceticism, where the support shifts from things to skills, relationships and internal resources," comments Daria Serebryakova.
It is possible to optimize a lifestyle if there is a good level of motivation, there is support from relatives and specialists, Alexey Vilkov emphasizes. Then a person can get out of addiction or at least go into long-term remission.
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