Alcohol, crack and heroin are known to be highly addictive,
but can something as innocuous as shopping be addictive?
I have no doubt shopping can become
addictive and destructive. I've worked with people from vastly different
backgrounds who have become shopaholics -- from "sudden wealth" recipients
who've come into millions, to the unemployed and destitute who cannot control
their shopping addiction. Dr. Drew recently taped an episode on the Ricki Lake
Show where he spoke to a young woman who was a self-diagnosed shopaholic. Her
shopping addiction can provide valuable lessons for the rest of us.
First, it's important to understand
what doesn't work. A shopping addiction is not a disease of intellect; it's a
disease of emotion. Unfortunately, most family members, along with mental
health and financial "experts," make things worse by focusing on the
two areas that usually lead to even more shopping: shame and logic. What's
wrong with you?! Don't you know better? How can you be so self-centered and
selfish? Trying to use logic -- if you spend too much, you won't have money to
make the car payment -- tends to be just as ineffective. read more...
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