As the New Year is approaching, shop windows are colorful. Discounts and campaigns offer opportunities for those who want to buy New Year's gifts. Experts emphasize that shopping addicts should be careful during this period. Experts recommend reducing credit card limits or not using credit cards, not shopping without making a list of needs and not shopping alone.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Psychiatry Specialist Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç said that the idea of a new year actually carries the hope of a new me.
New year comes with new excitement
Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç stated that the new year comes with excitement and curiosity and excitement that has not yet suffered the rage of time and said, "Diets to start for a new body, sports to start again, new health checks-new doctor appointments, cigarettes-alcohol to quit, new career plans, new loves, new friendships, new houses, cars, wardrobes, etc. New year, "Hope for a new me" actually."
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Showcases present 'new me's'
Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç drew attention to the New Year's shopping, which is on the agenda the most during this period, and said the following:
"Since the merchants are aware of the new year and the 'hope of a new me', they started to present colorful showcases and various 'new me's' before the New Year. And by attacking our perception of leisure time. Basically, while free time should be shaped by free will, every free moment is occupied with advertisements, sms, mms and mail. Thanks to the one-button convenience of our smartphones, we can now quickly access the 'new' in seconds without spending hours wandering around. Not to mention the 'feeling of not paying a price' created by our plastic money (credit cards), when we have just come out of Black Friday and Valentine's Day is two months away. Consumerism is the result of the commercial itching of emotions such as jealousy, envy and competition. However, emotions such as jealousy and competition can be transformed into constructive and productive forms."
Pay attention to the symptoms of shopping addiction
Pointing out that shopping addiction may increase during this period, Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç said, "If you tend to spend money when you are not feeling well, if you turn to shopping when you have difficulty in solving life problems, if the amount of money you spend has been increasing in recent years, if you have planned if you are spending beyond shopping, your spending is a problem in the family and you feel you are told that you have no control, you continue to spend even though you are in debt, you continue to shop even though you want to stop If you continue, if you feel regret, guilt, worthlessness and hopelessness at the end of the expenditures, you may be addicted to shopping."
Shopping for more pleasure
Stating that shopping addiction, like other addictions such as alcohol, drugs, gambling and internet addiction, works on dopamine, which provides pleasure in the brain, Erinç gave the following information
"The general principles of all addictions are common. On the ground, an emotional turmoil, which the person is usually unaware of, is tried to be satisfied and stopped in a non-functional way.It is dysfunctional because that psychological turmoil cannot be satisfied and a new psychological problem 'addiction problem' is added to that turmoil. Tolerance, i.e. increasing quantity, is also found in shopping addiction as in other addictions. The amount of shopping done at the beginning and the pleasure felt gradually diminishes with subsequent purchases. In other words, more and more shopping is at the door to get the same pleasure. The restlessness that arises when shopping is not done or the guilt and regret felt after shopping are inevitable feelings of the shopaholic. Domestic conflicts and arguments arising from the mismatch between need and budget define shopping addiction."
Impulse control disorders lie at the root
Stating that the treatment of shopping addiction, like the treatment of all other addictions, is possible by recognizing mental needs and actual mental problems, deciding to get rid of them, taking action, and getting psychological help, Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç said, "Shopping addiction may appear as an interface - a curtain acceptable to the individual of the mental complexity that the person tries to ignore. Therefore, the treatment is shaped according to the mental problem the person has. The basis may be impulse control disorders, anxiety disorders, depression and problems related to personality structure. Treatment ranges from individual psychotherapy to group therapy and pharmacotherapy. Behavioral therapies and supportive therapies can be useful in terms of interventions for shopping behavior. Couple therapies can be added to the treatment for relationships affected by spending."
Make a list of needs, not a shopping list!
Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç listed her recommendations for preventing shopping addiction as follows:
"Measures that can be taken individually; reducing credit card limits or not using credit cards, not shopping without making a list of needs (not a shopping list!), not shopping alone, shopping with someone who can help stop it, realizing that the limited number of discounted products is actually said to give the feeling that we are in shortage, remembering that the value of the product determines our shopping, not 50-60-70% of high discount rates."
Spiritual maturity is good
Psychiatry Specialist Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Meltem Taşdemir Erinç said, "Rather than the utopian goal of having everything, the absence of things, the spiritual maturity that comes with the acceptance of being incomplete is good for people."
