Is Your Shopping Out of Hand?

Shopping can be both a form of therapy or a kind of addiction. For a number of people, shopping provides an instant gratification. While there are people who like to go out on weekends as a form of stress reliever, there are others who derive comfort from purchasing. A small trinket at Occasion and Events Surulere, a new pair of shoes at Vespa, jewellery fresh from Kano, or even a new wardrobe: a small reward to yourself at the end of a long week might make you feel a bit better. You might tell yourself, ‘We are Nigerians , we don’t experience ‘that kind of thing’, but is your budget suddenly tighter? Is shopping a habit that is starting to get out of hand?

Habit vs Addiction

There is a fine line that separates these two. Just because you enjoy doing something repeatedly does not necessarily mean that it is an addiction. For example, if you like getting great online shopping deals and purchase items that are marked down, you’re probably just into shopping for bargains. However, if your spending is out of hand to the point of debt, and you find that you are owing colleagues at the office ridiculous sums of money then you may have a problem. As with any addiction, real shopaholics often feel that their shopping habits are beyond control and they cannot stop themselves. It becomes their go-to coping mechanism. So instead of dealing with a problem directly, shopaholics have the urge to buy as a way of managing stress.

Ask yourself these

As soon as I have money, do I immediately go shopping?
Do I shop if I feel sad, stressed, or bored?
Is there something inside of me pushing me to buy something?
Do I have strong feelings of guilt and/or regret after I purchase something?
I hide things I have bought for fear of being judged for my spending habits.
Do I feel a pull whenever I pass popular markets or a fear that new clothes are passing you by?
Do I feel that a perfect way to spend Saturdays is to visit a ‘few’ fairs where I can ‘pick up a thing or two’?
If you answered “yes” to most of these questions, you probably have a shopping problem. Don’t worry, though: full-blown shopping addiction is quite rare as only 1%-2% out of 100 people have it.

with self discipline, you can prevent this...nice day

link: http://quicksell.com.ng/do-nigerians-suffer-from-shopping-addiction/