Have you ever been called a “shopping addict”? If so, be aware that shopping addiction is very serious: it could even be a question of mental illness!
Explanations. The study was published at the end of October 2019 in the scientific journal Comprehensive Psychiatry : German researchers theorize there the “buying-shopping disorder” (BSD), a psychiatric disorder which is similar to an addiction to shopping on the Internet.
The researchers (led by psychotherapist Astrid Müller) brought together a group of 122 volunteers aged between 20 and 68 – among them, 76% were women. The participants answered a questionnaire designed to assess their dependence on online shopping sites.
Shopping addiction: a strategy to compensate for negative emotions…
Results ? 34% of the volunteers suffered from a BSD, that is to say an addiction to shopping on the internet. The researchers note that younger participants were more likely to exhibit this addiction.
On the other hand, the researchers did not establish any link between the probability of suffering from a BSD and the gender, marital status or even the social level of the participants. Clearly: single women are not the only ones concerned… contrary to prejudice!
What are the symptoms ? For German researchers, “buying-shopping disorder” is characterized by several symptoms: anxiety and depressive episodes, an imperious and irresistible need to buy products on the internet, or even a feeling of searching for one’s own identity. .
Scientists hypothesize that BSD is a strategy allowing the patient to compensate for their negative emotions (worry, sadness, etc.) and to conform to an ideal (maintained in particular by advertising). They estimate that this psychiatric disorder affects 5% of the population… Worrying!
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