For most, shopping is a sport. For the rest, it is an addiction. A recent UK survey reveals that women are more prone to shop during times of financial crisis. 75 percent of those surveyed said that a shopping spree will cheer them up during a gloomy recession. ‘Of the 700 women surveyed, 40 percent said depression was an excuse to overspend; 60 percent said “feeling a bit low” was a good enough reason.’ Which means that these women see shopping as a reward.
According to Karen Pine, professor at the University of Hertfordshire and author of “Sheconomics” (Headline Publishing Group, 2009), “This type of spending, or compensatory consumption, serves as a way of regulating intense emotions.”
Only a consumerist and materialistic society will show trends that point to the capacity to purchase as a balm for emotional problems. Experts believe that shopping has become an addiction for some.
Pine adds that the shopping addiction becomes an ‘emotional habit for women’ in spite of the current financial difficulty, so much so that if these women cannot have the opportunity to spend, they will end up with mental health problems such as anxiety and depression – which really makes shopping a typical addiction.
Via LiveScience
