Effects of Shopping Addiction Shopping is a necessary part of life. We shop for food, clothing, cars, homes, or anything that may be a necessity to survive. If shopping is necessary, how can it also be an addiction? The answer is the same as with other addictions. According to Wikipedia, addiction is the continued use of a mood altering substance or behavior despite adverse dependency consequences or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors. Oniomania, which is a Greek word meaning "for sale" is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as shopping addiction. Shopping addiction may be considered an impulse control disorder, an obsessive compulsive disorder, a bipolar disorder, or even a
Financial problems may occur if money is burrowed or there is excessive use of credit to make purchases. Most addict's find themselves in deep financial debt due to compulsive spending. They then are put into situations where there debt has become overwhelming and put them in dire restraints, leaving them unable to pay off bank loans, school fees, mortgages and other overhead costs. Many addicts lose their jobs due to the fact that they are unable to fulfill their duties. In the case of a shopping addict, they may steal from their employer which results in them being fired. Shopping addiction can also have an effect on students. If a student is suffering from shopping addiction, their level of concentration decreases and their grades suffer. The student becomes less motivated because they become fixated on their addiction to shop. There is also the risk of the student stealing from classmates or school property to support their addiction. This in turn can tarnish friendships and result in the student becoming expelled from school. According to Andrea Allen, "The creation of a condition such as compulsive buying might be associated with controversy and criticized by some as creating a trivial disorder; “medicalizing” a “moral” problem or creating a new disorder in order to sell more pharmaceuticals." Many people still classify compulsive shopping to not be an "addiction" which makes it a controversial