Is shopaholism a disease? What is a mental illness for a shopaholic

Shopaholism is a type of compulsive shopping that falls under the category of "impulse control disorder" in psychology.

Impulse control disorder is indeed a mental illness that has similarities to substance addiction. Impulse control disorders are thought to be related to neurotransmitter fibrillation in the human brain. This neurotransmitter disorder not only affects the individual's mood, but also induces mental illnesses such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The biggest difference between compulsive shoppers and ordinary shopping is that they don't pay attention to what they buy, but only the process of purchasing.

Many psychiatrists believe that it is necessary to warn the public to be wary of this psychological deviation, and most of the items that women with this symptom are keen to buy are related to their appearance and decoration, such as clothing, shoes and socks, cosmetics, gold and silver jewelry, etc. They value the shopping process far more than the outcome, and the underlying reasons are mostly a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence, and an inner emptiness that has to be filled by shopping.

Triggers for shopaholics:

1. Shopaholics are mainly people who are lonely, physically and mentally damaged, or self-indulgent, trying to rely on crazy shopping to fill the emptiness of their souls. Modern credit card payment methods have contributed to the development of the disease, as patients can no longer realize that their wallets have been emptied.

2. Shopping spree is related to their fragile feelings, fantasy, and romance, not to mention that some goods have symbolic meaning for showing the charm of women. Therefore, they often buy goods for some social activities, such as clothing, cosmetics, accessories, etc.

4. Wrong concept orientation, such as "shopping is enjoyment", "shopping is good for health", and even the promotion of shopping as a counseling method for mental illness, mental depression and other diseases, subconsciously aggravates practical attempts.

5. Lack of healthy stress catharsis. Since women rarely participate in physical activities, smoke and drink, and have narrow channels for psychological compensation and venting, shopping is often the best way for them to balance their emotions, relieve stress and vent their emotions.

6: There are 2 types of shopaholics, one is to be in a bad mood and desperately buy things to vent their emotions, and the other is a storage state, where you only look at things you buy and don't use them.

The basic manifestations of shopaholics are as follows: they are always unable to buy useful products, they are very excited when shopping, they feel regretful after shopping, and they feel anxious when they do not shop. Shopaholic is a typical psychological disease, which mostly occurs in girls, but occasionally in boys. This psychological disease is very difficult to control, because the patient will constantly give himself hints in his mind, so that he feels that only shopping is right, and only through shopping can he be happy.

**This psychological disease should start from psychology to change the patient's concept and let the patient establish correct values. At first, you can slowly change the patient's lifestyle and shopping habits by changing the surrounding environment.