Excessive shopping spree in women is a disease.

What is shopping? Getting what you need. So this is the case for everyone these days. What is this shopping spree? Sometimes people are so blinded that they don't see anything, they just want to buy. It doesn't matter if he needs it or not. This much is not normal. Excess is the end of everything. Excess becomes a disease. There may be sectors that turn this business into an opportunity. But the important thing is not to get caught up in this trend. So, how does this situation come to the level of a disease?

“Shopping Disease, which is more common especially in women and in the premenstrual period, is an impulse control disorder. Other impulse control disorders include Kleptomania (irresistible urge to steal), Pyromania (setting fires for pleasure), and Trichotillomania (repetitive pulling one's own hair for pleasure). This disorder, which was defined as "oniomania" in the psychiatry literature in the early 1900s, has been discussed as "compulsive shopping" in recent years. It is a disorder in which uncontrolled, impulsive and excessive shopping crises are seen. It is considered within the scope of impulse control disorders. The main feature of impulse control disorder is the failure to resist an urge, urge, or irresistible urge to do something that harms the person or others. The individual feels a gradual increase in tension or arousal before shopping, and then experiences pleasure, satisfaction and relaxation during shopping.

He may feel remorse, self-reproach, or guilt for spending a lot of money after shopping. Other impulse control disorders are Intermittent Explosive Disorder (severe attacks of aggression), Kleptomania (irresistible urge to steal), Pyromania (setting fires for pleasure), Pathological gambling, Trichotillomania (repetitive pulling of one's own hair for pleasure). It is seen in 1-6% of the American society, 80-90% of them are women. It is more common especially in the premenstrual period. The age of onset is around 18 years old, but it usually takes 10 years for this to be recognized as a problem. The reason is not fully known. However, according to the psychoanalytic view, these people generally have low self-esteem; clothing and jewelry are the most purchased items, and they are the objects that attract the most attention from the outside world. The person reduces the basic death anxiety by making himself believe that there is a future with his purchasing behavior. Women mostly buy clothes, perfumes and jewellery, while men buy electronics, cars or hardware. The shopping patterns of individuals with this disorder are typical. The urges to shop are usually episodic and occur around once a week in attacks lasting an hour on average. It is continuous throughout the year, not just on birthdays and holidays like others.

This urge appears when the person is usually at home, feeling depressed or tense, often shopping for oneself and sometimes for others. They buy lots of cheap items rather than a few expensive items. Women mostly buy clothes, perfumes and jewellery, while men buy electronics, cars or hardware. She often makes purchases with a credit card alone from department stores, often carrying more than one credit card with her. Most importantly, she buys things she doesn't need, her closet is full of clothes with tags on them that she's never worn. He sometimes gives them to others as gifts. His house is crammed with a lot of unnecessary household items. As seen in drug and alcohol addiction, tolerance develops after a while; People shop more and more in order to relax. Due to the nature and pattern of shopping, they start to have problems in their close relationships after a while, divorces are frequent. The person hides the things he buys. If he works because he spends too much time on shopping, he starts to have problems at work.

Thank you for reading.