Shopping addiction detox rehab
Get advice from an addictions clinician on all aspects of shopping addiction therapy for addiction recovery. Free, confidential and impartial advice on detox,withdrawal,rehab,admission,cost, therapy,counselling and aftercare.
Shopping addiction, detox, rehab.
Four heavy words for a very serious problem.
Can you get treatment for shopping addiction? Yes.
Is shopping addiction a thing? Yes
It is unusual? Not really, No.
Addiction is addiction.
It matters not what it is you are addicted to as the causes and effects (as well as the recovery process) is the same.
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What is shopping addiction?
Unless you live in a palace and have servants, you are going to need to purchase items: food to eat, items for the house.
Anything from vacuum cleaner bags to a 100 inch television.
Some people may go on a splurge in the boxing day sales and/or a "pay day" treat.
Shopping addiction is where you simply can not control your desire to buy things, regardless of whether you can actually afford them.
Things you don't need, items you can not afford.
Even though you are getting debt letters and are avoiding bailiffs, you can't help yourself.
This has nothing to do with willpower but everything to do with science.
Strained relationships, mortgage arrears, being evicted because you didn't pay the rent: None of these things will make any difference.
Your need to feed your addiction will override anything else.
Shopping addiction detox rehab
Is shopping addiction a fad?
No.
It is a behavioural condition where you have an uncontrollable urge to shop.
Shopping addiction isn't just a deep rooted psychological desire to feel a high when you make a purchase. It is far more complex.
People who suffer with shopping addiction experience intrusive thoughts.
They simply can not help buying things.
You will experience intrusive thoughts and an overriding urge to make purchases.
A tin of beans or a designer handbag.
It isn't always about what the item is but merely that you scratch an itch.
While not the same as going on a shopping spree, the result will be a causes a vicious circle of mood fluctuations.
Initially, you will experience intense euphoria when you buy something.
Problem is, your mood will crash and the overwhelming guilt, crippling anxiety and extreme frustration will cripple you.
Shopping addiction detox rehab
Different forms of shopping addiction
It isn't just about going to a department store or being glued to an internet shopping site.
Sometimes it can be a planned purchase, even though the purchase, itself, is unnecessary.
Shopping for bargains can become part of the problem.
The thrill of the purchase becomes far more powerful than the need for the item.
Often people go "trophy shopping" where they desire an item they see as being connected with high status such as a designer handbag or sports car.
It is more common in women, than in men.
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Risk factors and causes
Addiction is addiction.
It matters not what you are addicted to, the causes are the same. There are always more than one factor in play:
Psychological factors: When someone has severe anxiety, crippling low self esteem and heightened emotional distress shopping can be a quick fix. An instant boost of feel good chemicals released by the brain. This just makes the cycle worse.
Socioeconomic status: If you have money, you can spend it. If you have the earning potential, you can borrow it. Spending on credit cards makes the problem worse. When you get your bill and realise you can not pay your anxiety and guilt will spike. How do you make yourself feel better? You buy something and experience a rush.
Shopping addiction detox rehab
Risk factors and causes
Environmental and cultural influences: If you don't have access to money (or the ability to borrow it with credit cards) you will be less at risk. Advertisers target those who they think can afford their products. They use very sophisticated marketing techniques. Grief, loss, the ending of a relationship: All factors that can lead to shopping compulsion. You seek comfort, not in a bottle or from a drug dealer but from shopping.
Genetics: There may well be a history in the family of mental health conditions, addiction, mood disorders and compulsive behaviour. This may mean you are at more risk than others.
Dual Diagnosis: Very often, people with shopping addiction will also experience other problems. Most noticeably Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), binge eating disorder and drug addiction. There will be common issues underlying the addiction. Shopping addiction could be the coping mechanism for dealing with the other addiction or the other way around.
Shopping addictionn detox rehab
Brain chemistry
People with shopping addiction do it because it makes them feel good. Right? No. Well, not exactly. When you shop you trigger the release of Dopamine, a naturally occurring feel good chemical. If you keep activating it's release, the brain will change the way it works to accommodate the constant release. The problem is that , in time, your brain will develop a state known as tolerance. This means you will need more and more of the chemical to have the effect you experienced the first time you did it. This means you will have to buy more and more things in order to feel pleasure. This only perpetuates the cycle.
Shopping addiction detox rehab
How common is the problem?
Also known as compulsive buying disorder, shopping addiction affects nearly 5% of the population. It is higher among university students, rising to over 8%. Those who respond to the aggressive marketing techniques of advertise become a very large cohort with over 16% having a problem.
Shopping addiction detox rehab
The symptoms of shopping addiction
As with other addictions, the symptoms are varied. Some will be emotional, others psychological. It will cause mood swings, override your ability to complete everyday tasks. It will distract you to a degree where you can put your self at serious risk of financial ruin. Shopping will become an emotional crutch. Anything that upsets you will be countered with a purchase. If you feel stressed, anxious, depressed buying something will alleviate it: But not for long. Soon, you will crash and the cycle repeats itself.
Shopping addiction detox rehab
What about home treatmment for shopping addiction?
Yes. This can be arranged.
It depends on the severity of the problem.
Call and speak, for free (and in total confidence) with an experienced addictions clinician for impartial advice.
Therapy
All centers who provide treatment for addiction provide a fully immersive therapy programme, either along a 12 step approach or a SMART based recovery model. These run seven days a week and , those in treatment, are obliged to attend all sessions if physically well enough to do so. For new admissions, it can be 24-48 hours , on occasion, before someone is able to take part.
Sitting alongside this programme, many centers also offer adjunctive treatments and therapies such as:
Yoga
Mindfulness
Art therapy
Gentle exercise and group walks
Music therapy
Individual sessions (for those staying more than a week)
Clients, before leaving, are linked in with support groups in their local community, be they voluntary or statutory. A psychological tool kit is built up so that clients have a selection of techniques to employ.
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