Handbags and Gladrags

I understand shopping addiction.  I respect the 12 step fellowships composed of individuals afflicted by this secret shame that hides in wardrobes.  To return or not return, that is the question that haunts the mind of a compulsive buyer.  Impulsive purchases, fuelled by something other than a rational decision made with budget in mind, and a nicely balanced equation of want vs. need. 

I too appreciate a handbag.  Sitting there, looking longingly at you.  In my right mind, I can pat and move on.  Hungry, angry, lonely or tired and it might be a completely different story.  I have a strategy - avoiding shops at such times.  They spell misery for many.  And it's not only women...  I have worked with as many men who identify this trait.  Buying for buying's sake.  When the instant that they leave the shop, the buzz is over, the high collapsed.  And the torture begins.

...Do I need it?  ...Shall I keep it?  I could return it, but...  Round and round and round.  Accessories are high risk - they don't need to be tried on.  Justification seems easy.  At the time.

If sale season is hellish, but not because you can't park, if purchasing is no longer what it once was, then maybe your wallet is trying to tell you something.  If you are sick and tired of needing to sit down before looking at your bank statement (assuming you're still opening them), or of vowing not to buy on a whim again, then it may be time to take action. 

Oniomania (from Greek ὤνιος onios "for sale" and μανία mania "insanity") is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, shopping addiction, shopaholism, or compulsive buying. All of these are considered to be either clinical addictions or impulse control disorders, depending on the clinical source.

Originally termed oniomania by Kraepelin (1915) and Bleuler (1924), compulsive buying has been recognised for nearly a century but though clinically categorised among other pathological and reactive impulses, has been largely ignored remaining a painful yet virtually unknown reality for many people.