Compulsive shopping

Beware of Compulsive Shopping!

Shopping seems to have become one of the prime hobbies of many people, today. Among these shoppers are also some “shop-till-you-drop” personalities who would do anything to get a chance for shopping. But I always wonder, whether such a habit is right? Because such people often become compulsive buyers.

At first, I could not understand the difference between shopping and compulsive shopping. Later, I realised that shopping is buying some items that we need or like them so much that we decide to buy, while compulsive shopping is a type of mental attitude that compels people to buy anything they see.

I realised it when my cousin shared an incident. A few days ago, she had bought a new phone. One of her closest friends was so much smitten by that particular model of phone that she was spotted with the same phone the very next day. I could have ignored it as a one-off case if my cousin wouldn’t have told me that her friend does it always, whether it is a new dress, or a watch, purse or a lipstick.

I realised that compulsive buyers buy anything they see. Sometimes they buy things which are already owned by their close friends or relatives as they feel they should have it or sometimes they feel they should buy at least something when they go out. Due to all this, they end up buying anything they see in front of them, irrespective of their needs or liking.

I have noticed that this hobby is spreading like wildfire among shoppers. People spendmoney and time on such useless things without realising that it is all sheer wastage of resources.

Many think shopping might help them lift their moods or cheer them up. It might. But continuous and compulsive shopping will ultimately push them into depression. There are reasons such as the increasing debt due to excessive use of credit cards. Many times, due to the competition, people even break off friendships.

But every cloud has a silver lining. I have seen a few of them realising their mistakes.

One must realise that while shopping has become an integral part of our life, it should not become compulsive.

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 6, 2016)