Sleep disorders and depression can also occur, and withdrawal symptoms can even manifest themselves in psychosomatic disorders. Psychosomatic diseases are all diseases that have no physical but a mental cause.
Differences in purchasing behaviour
The buying behaviour can be very type-dependent and does not follow a generally valid pattern. It's not random, though. A specialization on certain products is usual. Irrespective of gender, there are those affected who only buy special offers, better known as "bargain hunters", or who purchase the goods depending on their emotions, or who start shopping indiscriminately in stressful situations. A collective delusion can also manifest itself in the form of buying addiction. The opposite of the bargain hunters are people who only buy luxury items and who are satisfied by buying high-priced items. Buying addicts, who predominantly buy luxury goods, have most likely cultivated a wasteful lifestyle even before their buying addiction and define themselves above all through their material possessions and strive to demonstrate them to the outside world.
Some of those affected concentrate their buying behaviour purely on online shopping, while others prefer to shop with cash or credit cards in shops. Which kind of shopping is preferred is very individual as well as the motives. If a childlike feeling like Christmas and unpacking presents is to be evoked, it seems more likely that the person concerned will choose online shopping. He may even resort to the option of having the order sent to him as a gift - many mail order companies now offer this option. Those, on the other hand, who prefer to buy locally and take advantage of comprehensive advice, attach great importance to external perception through contact with the sales staff. Regardless of the purchasing behaviour of the person concerned, the cause remains the same. The self-esteem is to be improved by the self-gift or the recognition from the outside.
Although the state of research on the frequency of buying addiction is insufficient, it has so far been possible to observe gender-specific buying behaviour. Basically, men and women differed in their buying behaviour.
Women often buy clothes, jewellery and cosmetics. Most men, on the other hand, tend to either buy prestige items such as cell phones or cars, or to go for entertainment products such as computer and console games. This buying behavior can be accordingly pronounced with a buying addiction. At a certain point in time, the people concerned buy far beyond their financial means, but at the beginning of their buying addiction, buying actions are oriented towards their social and financial status. Those who have had to live sparingly even before shopping addiction will probably not tend to want to buy several cars or expensive brand watches. A certain personal prevalence is certainly given, despite the fact that the goods are no longer paid attention after the purchase. After all, it would give the shopping addict little pleasure if he could not identify himself at all personally with the goods he is buying.
Since shopping addiction is based on a low self-esteem, importance is attached to the external perception of the products or services at the beginning of the addiction. Those affected try to present a socially conforming and ideal image of themselves, which in reality they do not correspond to at all. Often, however, there is a desire to sketch a picture of oneself that people think they need to be in order to be loved. Therefore, clothing, sporting goods or electronic objects are particularly suitable for improving perception. As shopping addiction progresses, the value of these products is not lost, so people do not switch to other less prestigious products. On the contrary, it may even be the case that shopping addicts are turning to more and more expensive products or the number of things they buy is increasing. However, they are increasingly losing personal value for those affected. The purchase is then in the foreground, no longer the goods themselves. The fact that shopping addicts are buying more and more and more expensive can be compared with an increase in dose, similar to people with a substance dependency. The reason for this is that the brain has already become accustomed to hormone secretion. If the product becomes more expensive, the "kick" for the affected person is greater and the euphoric effect occurs. A clear symptom of behavioral addiction.
At the beginning of the buying addiction, the choice of products and the motivation behind the buying of the affected persons was definitely present with calculation regarding the external perception and representation. These thoughts and feelings, however, are increasingly receding into the background. The affected person switches to a kind of "autopilot" at a certain point of his addiction and only pursues his compulsion or goes to the urge to have to shop.
Getting a shopping addiction under control: How to combat shopping addiction?
Shopping addiction is a so-called "secret" disease that is characterized by the fact that it can be hidden for a long time. In most cases, a longer period of time also passes before those affected become aware that they have a problem at all. If you notice your pathological behavior, you usually use a lot of energy to hide it from your environment. Justifications, secretiveness and lies make the environment suspicious and can lead to a break in interpersonal relationships. A central symptom of shopping addiction is the shame about the impulsive and senseless shopping is and thus closely related to the shame about the actual disorder. Those affected always seek few social contacts and isolate themselves, too great is the fear and shame that the environment might notice the shopping addiction. Or relatives and friends turn away from the affected person, because they reacted aggressively and unintelligently to their clues. However, there is a possibility that shopping addiction may arise as a result of social isolation and that shame may play a subordinate role due to a lack of social contacts. In this case, the insight into the pathological behaviour can only be gained very late, possibly only when the financial situation has become hopeless and the person concerned has to fear criminal consequences.
An insight into having to take action against shopping addiction is delayed by those affected. The social contacts and critical confrontation with the pathological buying behaviour can be missing, which is fatal for the buying addict himself. While in the beginning euphoria and adrenaline prevailed, desperation and remorse increasingly come to the fore. Those affected feel helpless, because at a certain point they are not only aware of their problematic situation, but also become aware that they can no longer manoeuvre themselves out of it alone without help. The feeling of powerlessness over compulsive behaviour places a heavy burden on those affected and, in addition to social isolation, causes conflicts in every area of life. Social isolation, financial situation and despair often lead to suicidal thoughts.
Insight into buying addiction itself
As a rule, a distinction is made between people who are addicted to shopping and those who are at risk of becoming addicted to shopping. If, for example, you find yourself in many of the symptoms and characteristics mentioned, but have not yet completely lost control over your purchasing behavior, you may be at risk of becoming addicted to shopping. Since shopping addiction goes through different phases and comes creepingly, people who frequently reward themselves with purchases should therefore keep an eye on their buying behaviour.
Buying addiction can basically be divided into three phases. In the first phase the joy about the purchased product still dominates and the act of purchase itself is secondary. However, this weighting increasingly shifts and the joy disappears and the act of purchase itself becomes the centre of attention. At this point, the aforementioned misdirected reward has already taken place in the brain. The act of purchase now releases the euphoric hormones. In the second phase there is a loss of control. The person concerned buys without measure and clearly exceeds his financial possibilities. In the third phase, the financial situation is already hopeless and the affected person recognizes above all his financial imbalance. However, he is incapable of freeing himself from this situation.
At this point it is important to understand that at the beginning of the buying addiction the person concerned is still enjoying his addiction and shopping and may even be happy about the things he has bought. Only when a certain amount of suffering arises as a result of the loss of control does the addiction to shopping begin to become a problem for the person concerned. A typical characteristic