How to Stop a Shopping Addiction: Options & Prevention

What is Shopping Addiction?

Shopping addiction is a condition in which individuals struggle with impulse control in their shopping. Although many people make impulse buys occasionally, especially things on sale, those struggling with a shopping addiction continually purchase items. Even when it is unnecessary or undesired, they simply buy it for the sake of buying something. Someone may be in debt, recognize the issue, and want to stop, but regardless of how bad the situation gets, they continue shopping.

Like any other addiction, the more accessible the stimulus, the stronger its grip on your life. Shopping is a necessary part of life, and telling someone to “just stop shopping” is not easy. People either shop in-store or online to purchase food, clothing, medication and other essential needs to function in life.

Signs of shopping addiction include:

• Negative emotions & low self-esteem
• Preoccupation with shopping
• Shopping in secret
• Being unable to stop shopping
• Compromising your values or well-being to shop
• Feeling guilty and shameful about purchases
• Needing to shop to feel normal

Note that there is a difference between a regular impulse buy/shopping spree versus a shopping addiction that demands professional help. Many reward themselves for their hard work by treating themselves to something they desire, even when it is an unnecessary item. However, with these shopping sprees, spending is limited and not an ongoing practice. These people do not spend to the point of creating personal and interpersonal problems, and therefore do not have a shopping addiction.

Is Shopping Addiction a Real Addiction?

Currently, shopping addiction is not a formally diagnosed condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) (DSM-5).¹ At the same time, the DSM-5 does recognize process addiction as a mental health disorder, with gambling addiction being the only condition formally named a process addiction.¹

It is essential to consider what constitutes a non substance-related behavioral addiction. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH; 2016), “Compulsive buying behavior (CBB) has been recognized as a prevalent mental health disorder, yet its categorization into classification systems remains unsettled.”²

General criteria for non substance-related behavioral addiction include:³

• Relying on the behavior to feel normal
• Continuing despite physical and mental harm
• Having trouble cutting down
• Spending the majority of your time engaging in the behavior
• Neglecting commitments such as work or school in favor of the behavior
• Experiencing symptoms of withdrawal (depression, irritation) when not engaging with the behavior
• Hiding the extent of the problem.

Given the general criteria indicating what constitutes a behavioral addiction, shopping addiction appears to fit the description. Regardless of the condition not being formally recognized diagnostically, approximately 5% of the population struggles with it.⁴

What Causes Addiction to Shopping?

The causes of addiction to shopping vary by person but tend to increase as more risk factors are present. Again, we must consider the accessibility of shopping stimuli. Beyond essential goods, many stores sell products we desire but do not need. Given the plethora of major online retailers and analytics conducted while we search the web, the items we seemingly want most but do not need are the ones that continually pop up on our devices. For those with a shopping addiction, the exposure can and does often prove too much.

Marketing strategies increase sales advertisements on digital platforms such as:

• Emails
• Text messages
• Social media
• Web searches

Common risk factors associated with the development of an addiction to shopping, according to the research, include: ^5,6

• Biological factors
• Other mental health issues
• Upbringing
• Materialism
• Relationship difficulties
• Personality tendencies
• Other emotional distress

While a single risk factor may not prove the sole precipitating consideration, the more risk factors present, a compounding effect may occur, increasing the likelihood of development.

How to Stop Being a Shopaholic

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to stop being a shopaholic. Still, it can be challenging to maintain control over the problem. Given that those who attempt recovery cannot abstain from shopping altogether, various helpful strategies will help curb spending while improving the quality of life for themselves and their significant others. As with any other form of addiction, the most critical first step is acknowledging you have a problem. Upon accepting the problem, the real work may begin.

13 ways to control your shopping addiction include:

1. Gain Accurate Appraisal of Your Debt.

Given that approximately 58% of those struggling with a shopping addiction have large debts, it helps to begin by being honest with yourself about your state of finances.⁴ Consider the extent of debt and the best way to manage it. As the bills pile up, many go into a state of denial. They try not to look at the total amount or minimize the severity.

Without appropriate planning here, the financial burden will continue growing. Structured payment plans tend to work best, as they keep total amounts in front of you and are paid in equal installments over time.

This appraisal will potentially the support of a financial advisor who will work with you to consider challenging questions to develop a financial plan, such as:

• “How long will it take to pay off the credit cards?”
• “Does debt consolidation make the most sense?”
• “Should I declare bankruptcy?”
• “Do I need to sell some of the goods I don’t need?”

2. Assess Your Finances

Once your debt has been accounted for, you should accurately appraise your finances. Consider your current monthly income, including any anticipated raises, bonuses, or other financial gains that may not come to fruition. Should they come to fruition, that is a bonus down the line. But spending money not already in the bank or your pocket is problematic as it will impact your ability to cover expenses the next month.

Consideration of monthly recurrent bills should include:

• Mortgage
• Rent
• Utilities
• Insurance
• Vehicle Payments
• Student Loans
• Medical Bills

3. Allocate Money for Bills and Debt Repayment

Beyond recurring monthly bills and debt repayment, there are additional living expenses, which are more flexible.

Some examples of additional living expenses include:

• Food
• Clothes
• Fuel
• Entertainment

Here, it is essential to budget to an extent where these items fit within your limits after paying the bills and leaving room for saving.

People can save more money each month by doing things such as:

• Purchasing healthy but generic foods
• Cooking at home
• Avoiding expensive designer brands
• Utilizing public transportation

4. Set Spending Limits & Stick With Them

Once the previous recommendations have been met, set spending limits, and stick to them. If credit and debit cards are a problem, leave them at home. Instead, create a shopping list, arrive at the predicted total, and only carry enough cash to purchase the intended items. Using cash instead of credit or debit cards places a distinct limit on what you can spend.

5. Minimize Time Spent On Online Shops

Online retailers are a significant threat to enabling shopping addiction. We need the internet for school, work, and other non-shopping needs. Altogether avoiding the Internet may not be practical, but restricting access to the internet can make a substantial difference.

Many schools and employers restrict access to websites to maintain student and employee focus. You may do this yourself on your devices by setting web restrictions that minimize the opportunity for you to shop.

You can limit your access to online shopping by setting restrictions such as:

• Adjusting browser preferences
• Not accepting analytic cookies from various sites
• Unsubscribing to retailers and other spam emails
• Limiting time on social media where advertisements are prevalent

6. Delete Shopping Apps

Because many people have access to smart devices such as tablets and phones with various shopping apps, it makes sense to delete these to disconnect you from potential triggers. If the shopping app consistently sends notifications to your phone, these should be turned off, although completely deleting the app is the best practice. Again, you want to limit triggers to shop by as many means as possible.

7. Pay Yourself First

You work hard! So, why not pay yourself first?  Specialists recommend that people try to save at least six months of salary for an emergency. Many employers also provide opportunities for employees to have savings deducted upon every paycheck, which means that you will not even see these amounts hit the bank with each paycheck. These savings increase over time while you continue working from only the cash left over each month.

Some other examples of ways to increase your savings over time include:

• Retirement savings plan (i.e., 401k, IRA)
• Purchase adequate insurance
• Invest into things that provide a return over time (i.e., stocks, bonds, property)

8. Have Trusted People Hold You Accountable

It does help to have a trusted person hold you accountable for your finances. Financial management should be a team effort in close relationships, such as marriage. In these cases, money is likely shared, and what you spend impacts you and your loved ones. Working together may minimize the event of relapsing and go on a shopping spree. Sometimes, this might involve taking a timeout from spending entirely while someone else manages finances and does the spending for you. Especially to start until better spending habits are instilled.

9. Stretch Every Cent as Far as Possible.

To stretch every dollar and cent as far as possible, it helps to shop where and when the best deals are available, which can include participating in things such as:

• Shopping At Thrift Stores: For traditional household goods, clothes, and similar items, shopping at thrift stores such as Good Will or the Salvation Army can help stretch your money. Further, those proceeds benefit those in need.
• Coupon Clipping: Don’t forget that coupon clipping from various fliers, coupon packets, and magazines can help save as much as possible and help develop your local businesses.
• Using Groupon, Living Social, & Local Flavor: These and other similar websites are also great strategies for saving, but these should be used with caution. If you use these, ensure that you only buy things you intend to use in the immediate or near future. Stockpiling deals for the sake of accumulating discounts can increase spending unnecessarily.
• Waiting for Major Sales: The key here is only purchasing what you need and planning what you will buy when you have the financial means. If you have been following the previous recommendations, then notification of sales should now be limited. So consider significant holidays or events such as Black Friday as a way to predict sales, even if you have not been consistently up to date on sales throughout the year.

 10. Find Additional Part-time Jobs

The truth is that sometimes your debt has gotten to a point where it is unmanageable with your current job alone. If you are a top performer at your job, then it may make sense to petition for a raise. Whether you get the raise or not, it may still make sense to find a part-time job. The supplemental income will not only help you pay off debt faster and afford more things but also take away from time you might otherwise spend needlessly spending.

11. Engage In Enjoyable Activities.

Enjoyable activities may serve as a healthy distraction from problematic spending. The key here, however, is not spending excessive amounts of money on enjoyable activities.

Fortunately, there are many activities come at a minimal cost or are even free, such as:

• Taking a walk,
• Going to the park
• Enjoying a free community event
• Reading a library book
• Meditating
• Journaling
• Listening to music

It is important to engage in those activities that you find enjoyable and meaningful. Otherwise, this approach may backfire. Like finding and securing part-time work, time spent engaging in enjoyable activities removes you further from problematic shopping.

12. Attend Support Groups for Problematic Spending.

Support groups such as Debtors Anonymous, Spenders Anonymous, Stopping Overshopping, and Shopping Addiction Support Group provide an opportunity for those struggling with problematic shopping to support one another. Groups are available both in-person and online. Here, participants speak to various experiences, share tips, hold one another accountable, and provide support. Remember, you are not in this alone.

13. Speak With a Professional.

Getting to the point of a shopping addiction oftentimes indicates other underlying issues. Speaking with a mental health professional may not only help get your spending under control but also work to address other issues. The more comprehensive the process, the less likely you are to return to the undesired behavior.

When to Get Help

The sooner you get help for problematic spending, the better. Like any other addiction type or dependence, the longer it goes unaddressed, the more severe the effects can become. In this case, beyond the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral implications, the financial burden increases with every penny spent. Depending on how you spend your money, debt may gradually increase or quickly hit you like a ton of bricks. Especially when you feel as though your spending has exceeded your ability to control it, that is when help is needed.

Shopping Addiction Treatment

Treatment for shopping addiction is traditionally in an intensive outpatient setting, which occurs 1:1 with a mental health professional. Many providers and agencies also provide clinical group therapy (such as Group CBT) to treat the condition. Supplementing individual and clinical group therapy with support groups provides further reinforcement to remain on track. A mental health professional will likely provide similar recommendations to those stated above while collaborating upon anything else that needs to be addressed, especially in a co-occurring mental health disorder (two mental health conditions coinciding).

You must possess the desire and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation to be willing to make a change for yourself. If forced, the treatment experience may lead to resistance, disrupting recovery. Further, you must be intentional and consistent with efforts—it’s easy to become complacent since shopping is inescapable.

Therapy Options

The therapeutic approach will vary depending on the individual, especially if multiple mental health issues and diagnoses are present. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and its many variations are consistently heralded as the “golden standard” of addiction treatment. Here, the therapist and client work together to identify maladaptive beliefs and values around spending that compromise thought, emotions, and behaviors. Ultimately, the client recognizes the root cause of the issue, adjusts beliefs and values around it, and subsequently engages in a healthier thought, emotion, and behavioral cycle. Traditional CBT treatment is typically around 12-16 sessions but will vary depending on the individual and presenting issue.

Final Thoughts

Shopping addiction can be challenging to overcome, but recovery is possible. Fortunately, it is a widely recognized problem that has received much attention, especially in recent years. There are many providers, support groups, treatment options, and otherwise to assist. Remember, you are not alone. Finances are a significant life factor that, when compromised, negatively impact our well-being and that of others who rely upon us. Seeking assistance sooner than later will prevent problematic spending from going from bad to worse while you see other areas of life continually improve in tandem.