Defined Terms and Documents       

Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD) or Oniomania is characterized by an obsession with shopping and buying behaviour that causes adverse consequences. According to Kellett and Bolton (2009, p. 83), compulsive buying "is experienced as an irresistible–uncontrollable urge, resulting in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity [that is] typically prompted by negative affectivity" and results in "gross social, personal and/or financial difficulties".[1] Most people with CBD meet the criteria for an axis II disorder.

CBD is found in 5.8% of the United States population and may be almost as common in males as it is in females.[2]

Characteristics

CBD is frequently comorbid (a medical condition that co-occurs with another) with mood, anxiety, substance abuse and eating disorders. People who score highly on compulsive buying scales tend to understand their feelings poorly and have low tolerance for unpleasant psychological states such as bad moods.[3] Onset of CBD occurs in the late teens and early twenties and is generally chronic. CBD is similar to, but distinguished from, OCD hoarding and mania. Compulsive buying is not limited to people who spend beyond their means; it also includes people who spend an inordinate amount of time shopping or who chronically think about buying things but never purchase them. Promising treatments for CBD include medication such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and support groups such as Debtors Anonymous.[4][5][6][7]

Identity seeking

A social psychological perspective suggests that compulsive buying serves an identity-construction function. Compulsive buying may be seen as an exaggerated form of a more normal search for validation through purchasing.[8] Without a strong sense of identity, pressures from the spread of materialist values and consumer culture over the recent decades can drive the vulnerable into compulsive shopping.[9]

In a global context where we are all encouraged to "shop till we drop"[10]—to find solace in possessions[11]—compulsive shopping inevitably poses the further question, "Minority pathology or Mass problem?".[9] With advertisements offering not so much products as narratives (of success, glamour) to identify with,[12] compulsive buying may seem only an extreme aspect of what consumer culture demands from us all.[13]

Treatment

Treatment involves becoming conscious of the addiction through studying, therapy, group work, etc... Research done by Michel Lejoyeux and Aviv Weinstein suggests that the best possible treatment for CB is through cognitive behavioral therapy. They suggest that a patient first be "evaluated for psychiatric comorbidity, especially depression, so that appropriate pharmacological treatment can be instituted." Their research proves that patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy over 10 weeks had reduced episodes of compulsive buying and spent less time shopping as opposed to the patients who did not receive this treatment (251).

Lejoyeux and Weinstein also write about pharmacological treatment and the studies that have been done to question the use of drugs on CB. They declare "Few controlled studies have assessed the effects of pharmacological treatment on compulsive buying, and none have shown any medication to be effective" (252).

The decision for treatment of Compulsive Buying should be left to the person who is affected by the behavioral addiction and should be researched more before making a final choice. It is recommended that you speak with a doctor about any health problems or issues that may be affected by the drug Celexia and any side effects it may include.

The most effective treatment is to attend therapy and group work in order to prevent the continuation of this addiction.[14][15]

Historical and cultural examples

  • Mary Todd Lincoln was addicted to shopping, running up (and concealing) large bills on credit, feeling manic glee at spending sprees, followed by depressive reactions in the face of the results.[16]
  • In Kate Cann's novel, Hard Cash, it was a point of pride for the anti-heroine to say "my credit card is so far into the red it's turning purple".[17]

See also

The above information is from Wikipedia Compulsive Buying Disorder

"Retail remedies... or an acquiring addiction?"

"Emerge from the spend cycle"

"Shop ‘til you drop: Battling compulsive shopping"

What Can Be Done to Help With Compulsive Spending Habits?

3. What role do credit cards play in compulsive buying? With a slide of a credit card and delayed payment, we don't experience the same psychological impact of parting with money - we get excited about a purchase now, face the pain of acknowledging our spending behaviour later, and don't learn as well from this cause-and-effect relationship. Credit cards get rid of restraints, both of actual money and our psychological discomfort of spending it. When we handle cash, we physically part with it, and our awareness of spending money increases. The consequence is immediate. When we use a debit card, we can think of our balance dropping to an eventual zero - there is a real bottom to hit. When we slide the credit card, we can delay the consequences - we can stick our heads in the sand like ostriches.