Assignment SYP4932
Compulsive On-line Shopping
Compulsive Online Shopping

Note the following scenario:
A women leaves a stressful day at the office with one hour to prepare for her full evening agenda; one that requires meetings and project submissions. Once at home, she logs into her favorite online store. Once inside she discovers a 75% off bi-annual online only sale, with great deals on shoes, clothing, electronics, etc. After 1½ hours of shopping, she finally logs off, and runs out the door, late for her very important meeting, with no time for last minutes review of her presentation. This is perfect scenario from the life of a compulsive online shopper. Though a new compulsive disorder, Internet addictive behavior is quickly becoming an advent of serious cases requiring treatment.

Onionmaniacs
Compulsive shoppers, online or otherwise, commonly referred to as shopaholics, or oniomaniacs, have been highlighted on television show, magazines, and other media as the neveau disorder. While this term is used sometimes as a joke, real shopaholic behavior stems from serious issues relating to mental issues. Our society emphasizes materialism and has made shopping fun and easy. While most people use online shopping as a just shoping, there are some that buy more than they need or could ever use. True shopaholic are out of control. Most Americans live beyond their financial ability and view shopping as a pastime or a hobby rather than a time to purchase needed items. It is not uncommon for many to use shopping as a time for socializing, like on a weekend buying spree only to regret the purchase soon after they are made.
True shopoholic shops when emotional triggered and with compulsion, making purchases beyond their means. They purchase because they have to, like any other addiction. A smoker smokes because he has to.

To combine fuel with the fire, now shopaholics can shop without any ever knowing. Online shopping is now more interactive and more available than ever. Both major home shopping channel, HSN and QVC use advance technology that allows the customer to view presentations online, simultaneously as the items are presented on television. With each item a description and cost automatically appears. Buying is as easy as pressing the “Buy it” button.

On main reason for the successful of online shopping is that you can do it with secrecy. Unlike traditional shopping that requires a trip to the store, compulsive can do it without leaving home, giving the impression that they are not engaging in negative behavior. Regular shopping requires that the merchandise be taken home, which most compulsive shoppers are reluctant to share with other family members. Online shopping allows you to deliver packages wherever. This has provided to be conducive for compulsives since they don’t have to explain the packages to other family or friends. One confessed online shopper admitted to spreading the delivering of her purchases to her sister’s and best friend’s home, instead of her own. This way, they could return the packages to her when her husband was away.

Some compulsive shoppers may not actually buy anything, but may just spend all day of the Internet browsing, from site to site. This is considered ritualistic and exhilarating. Store shoppers are drawn to camaraderie, enjoying the attention from making a purchase.

Online Behavior
Online behavior affords the user anonymity, which is considered the basis of addictive online behavior. Researchers have found that anonymity can have a negative effort on human behavior. The results show that people will engage in activities that they would not other wise engage in because of the anonymity the Internet provides. People tend to show less inhibition when operating under an alias, due to accountability factors. Counselors, therapist, and the like are reporting an significant increase in cases involving compulsive internet behavior from online gambling, chat room involvement, online shopping, and pornography. These problems are creating a whole new line of mental health issue requiring clinical attention. Obsessive use of the Internet affects the full spectrum of individuals from young kids engaging in violent video games, to celebrities and high-level officials engaging in pornographic online behavior. Many of the later do not seek treatment due to the possible negative effect of their professional persona.

Some therapist do not consider compulsive online shopping a traditional addiction because there is no “physical dependency”, however internet dependency do display addictive behavior. Online shopping addicts are typically women, although can affect either sex, mainly in their late twenties to forties. Because this is new area for research, that which has been conducted show that around ten percent of all Internet user have a tendency toward dependency. Similar to that of a other compulsive disorders, a normal action is transformed into an uncontrollable urge.

Online shopaholics admit to spending too much time on the Internet, to the point that it affects their financial and social health. Problems that have been linked to issues relating to the compulsive Internet usage is online “gambling, online shopping, day trading, cybersex affairs, adolescents and online gaming, online auctions, children and violent computer games”.

Excessive online usage by individuals, relating to shopping other problems, often lead to diminished participation in the family and otherwise. Like regular shopping, online shoppers have reported that they can escape from the negativity of their everyday, get caught us the camaraderie and excitement of shopping. In his book, The Nature of Internet Addition, Dr. Greenfield, conducted a study for compulsive behaviors on the Internet. The majority of people surveyed admitted to a feeling of “time distortion, accelerated intimacy” when online. Also the fact the most of the dealings are done with some kind of anonymity promoted the feeling of un-inhibition. All of these aspects impacts the user personal relationships, employment (since a portion of online usage can happen at work), and financial life.

Dependency
The subject of Internet dependency and shopping addictions come with much debate. Some argue that the Internet is a communication medium and does not compare to drug or alcohol addiction. However, more and more mental health professional and noting the number of cases there are addressing relating to this problem. Before the advent of the Internet, there have been cases reported with computer gambling and video game addiction, Atari and others. In her book, Addictive Use of the Internet, Dr. Kimberly Young documents excessive dysfunctional Internet usage meriting clinical attention.

Although there are terms for compulsive shopping such as oniomaniacs, there is no psychiatric diagnosis called Internet online shopping addiction. To become an official diagnosis, Internet addiction (all types) must be proven by clinical study and research that it can be distinctly diagnosed, and the diagnosis correlates with the outcome and “treatment, results, histories, and prognosis.” A similarity has been linked to that of bi-polar tendencies, called DSM IV Axis Impulse Disorder. A study titled Psychiatric Features of Individuals with Problematic Internet use, noted that the problematic Internet usage displayed the systems of uncontrollable urges, distressing behavior leading to social and economic negativities, and manic episodes.

Signs of addiction
Since dysfunctional Internet abuse and compulsive shopping are two distinction addictions merged into one, the diagnosis is sometimes complicated to distinguish. Is the person addicted to shopping using the Internet as tool to continue the behavior, or are they addicted to Internet usage and use shopping as a means to stay online?

Sign of compulsive shopping/online obsessive behavior are described as follows:
- Feeling preoccupied with the Internet and online buying.
- Buying in excess things not needed, or buying duplicated of previously purchased items.
- Spending more and more time online to achieve fulfillment; constantly being online much longer than intended.
- Feeling a lack of control over sending habits. Even when feeling distraught about debt, shopaholics still shop.
- Loneliness or withdrawal from personal contact.
- Low self-esteem. Feeling more important online due to anonymity and the ability to “become” someone else.
- Risk losing significant relationships or straining a current relationship, job, or educational opportunity. Use Internet shopping as a means of escaping or procrastinating.
- Experience withdrawal when off line such as increase depression, moodiness, and irritability.
- An euphoric feeling when shopping, but then a down period of guilt and shame.
- Caring more about the art of buying than the actual purchases.
- Feeling of urgency to be online, thinking the online community demands your participation.
- When shopping interferes with social aspects of person work or personal relationships.
- Spending large amounts of money during times of mild depression or emotional distress. Spending even more for online fees, and the like.
- Hiding purchases or lying about the amount of money spent. Having arguments love one’s shopping or spending habits
- Acquiring additional debt far beyond person capacity to pay, in order to continue shopping.
- Daily online shopping, binge shopping, collecting, bargain hunting and buying multiples of the same item.

Treatment
Internet shoppers and other that abused Internet usage, do so when they have dissociated themselves their “face to face” everyday lifestyle. Their activities in cyberspace become a new world or an escape, which allows them to disassociated themselves from real life. It includes prioritizing the compulsive behavior over all other aspects of life.
Suggestions for treatment include support groups and some form of psychotherapy. Mental health professionals help individuals find a balance between their online behavior and other life obligations. The treatment can be compared to eating and drinking disorders in that the focus is identifying triggers which onset binge behavior and re-learning how to use it in moderation. Or in some cases abandoning the behavior entirely.
People addicted to compulsive shopping often receive treatments for that of other pathological disorders. A class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) reuptake inhibitors have been found to help with the shopping disorder. Drugs such as citalopram, Celexa and Lexapro have been proven to reduce the urge for binge shopping.
Cashing In
With the approval of the drugs and the success of the SSRI with shopaholics, makers of these drugs are seeking a much wider audience for compulsive disorders, those linked to online Internet use. Companies such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer and other are pushing for the Internet compulsion to become diagnosis as a disease that can be treated with their products.
Many SSRI have merited approval to successfully treat anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, including that of social phobia. Now online addiction, excessive shopping and gambling have been added to the roster.
While compulsive gambling are recognized in the standard psychiatric diagnostic manual as an impulse control disorder, online shopping and compulsive shopping is not. Research supports that the individuals who have been treated with SSRI have decrease their online appetites to that of normal use.
The controversy lies with the notion that drug companies are trying to redefine normal behavior and abnormal, for the sake of boosting drug sales. Many individuals shop online and do so frequently. However, if the behavior is redefined by the maker of these products, all of a sudden millions of people fit into these modes, required special attention and treatment.
Until compulsive online shopping is recognized as a disease, and a stand alone diagnostic, the company are not currently marketing their drugs for these purposes.
Controversies
Although there are accepted guidelines for compulsive shopping, not all researchers and clinical professionals support the idea of Internet addition. There are no guidelines established for excessive Internet use to conduct this activity. Many clinical professionals debate that the Internet itself is not addictive, but the vulnerability to such behavior already exist and the Internet is another vehicle to further this conduct. They question the necessity of a unique diagnosis, pointing to other behavior undiagnosed such as television addiction, etc. Researchers argue that the validity of the idea of addiction relating to dysfunctional use, stating that it does fall into the same aspects as substance abuse such as alcohol or drugs.
It is also debated that excessive online use and depression is limited to new users. As users become more experience their dependencies lessen and they can actually use the Internet as tool for searching for support.
The fact remains clear that people social life have been affected (such as divorce), individuals have lost jobs, and additional stress has been put on children of compulsive shopping (avoidance). Individuals have disrupted their lives in many capacities.
On a personal note
I have a personal experience dealing with online shopping. My Godsister, Amy can be categorized as an impulsive shopping. There have been time when she has gone from store to store, until her feet hurt, just for the thrill of showing. When knew she had a problem when one day, we heard her say that she was going to the mall, with only two dollars! Amy, like many others, never thought she had a problem, only believing that she loved to shop, she did it for fun, or out of boredom. However, when faced with not being allowed to shop at will, she would become very snappy and anxiety. It was abnormal for her to drag her children from store to store, until their bed time, seeking the next sale. Ashamed of her purchases, she would hide the items in the truck of her car, until her husband either went to bed or to work. She finally convince herself that she need help when her credit card debt reached over $10,000.
She contacted a debt credit agency, which prohibited her the use of all credit cards in exchange for a lower interest rate. She also sought counselors from a local women’s organization focuses on compulsive disruptive behaviors. It has been two years now, and Amy is still recovering. She does fool herself thinking that she is cured, but now acknowledges the disruptive behavior and seeks support from her friends and family.






Works Sited – Articles and Sites

Are you a compulsive shopper?
www.fool.com/Specials/2001/Specials10112001

Drugs to help combat compulsive shopping.
sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/ stories/2003/07/14/daily25.html

Identifying Compulsive Behavior
hffo.cuna.org/story.html?

Essence of compulsive shopping
www.godubai.com/business/business19.asp

Compulsive shopping and spending
www.addictionrecov.org/spendwhat.

Mental health disorders
www.sciencedaily.com/directory/Health/Mental_Health/ Disorders/Anxiety/Obsessive-Compulsive

Support Path
www.supportpath.com/

Online shopping
kcci-tvhealth.ip2m.com/ index.cfm?PageType=itemDetail&Item_ID=8048&Site_Cat_ID=8

Curbing anxiety
www.angelnetcom.bigstep.com/item.html?PRID=166149

Getting famous online
www.techtv.com/internettonight/netculture/ story

Shopping Online
www.linka.com/find/Gambling.html

Compulsive shopping
hffo.cuna.org/news.html?doc_id=16424&sub_id=12123 - 5k

Substance Abuse
www.helpguide.org/mental/other_addictions.htm

Compulsive gambling
www.best-online-casino-directory.com/

Compulsive Women
www.lifetalk.net/storeItems.html?

Online shopping
www.bomi.info/shop/ae.pl?type=browse&mode