What causes a clothing shopping addiction?
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I love clothes because for me it is a form of self-expression. I am a plus-size woman and wearing pretty clothes is very important to me. Shopping for good-quality clothes for a good price always catches my attention. My style ranges from Boho chic, preppy, and colorful clothing that allows me to stand out.
I was told to wear mostly black clothing because it would make me look smaller. I don't care how much smaller it would make me look, I am not about to look boring and predictable.
In the last three or four years, I have noticed that I am constantly online shopping for clothes and I go to the mall and say that I am just window shopping or having lunch at the mall. My closets are overflowing with clothes. I find that I have to dig under a lot of clothes in order to find a top or pants that I want to wear for the day.
I don't spend a lot of money at one time because I cannot afford really expensive clothes at this time but I like for my clothes to look expensive. I always end up at Macy's and I find some great sales but each time I promise myself that I am not going to buy anything else for about three months.
Using the excuse that the clothes are inexpensive is my way of trying to fool myself into thinking that my shopping addiction is alright. Usually, I go online and check out Thredup because I know that they carry the brands that I like and their clothes look expensive without breaking the bank.
Thredup only sells used clothing. I am not filling up the landfills with new clothes but I am hoarding clothes like crazy. It is really becoming like a sickness to me.
I also love shopping at Ashley Stewart and Venus when they have sales. So, you see that I like to save money on my purchases.
It seems like when I receive the clothes in the mail, I start to come down from my high and then want to order something else. I never spend a lot of money at one time but I want to get to the point of wearing all of the clothes that I have.
Below are some questions that many of you may be asking yourself or to help someone else.
- What does a shopping addiction look like? A shopping addiction can manifest as a person going to a store and they always have to buy something or they are online a lot looking for deals and most of the time they are ordering something even if they don't really like the thing that they are ordering.
- How to stop a clothing shopping addiction? You can stop it by putting a post it on your computer to remind yourself that you shouldn't be shopping. You have to stop responding to advertisements about sales in your email. Do not go to a website (just to look) or you will end up buying something. If you are out shopping with friends or alone, do not bring your credit cards and bring a limited amount of money. If you say that you are only going to buy one thing, try to stick to it.
- Why do I have a shopping addiction? Well, it comes from a time when I was really broke and I couldn't afford nice clothes. It is always been ingrained in me that this could happen again and it is a scary feeling to me.
- How common is shopping addiction? It is very common. I actually know some people who have this addiction but they tend to throw good clothes away so that can continue to shop for new clothes every month.
- Is a shopping addiction a mental illness? I actually believe that it is because you will get sad if you cannot buy something. It makes you act on impulse in order to satisfy the feeling that you get when ordering or buying something. Some people have a lot of credit card debt because they are out of control.
