Why do people become "shopaholics"

After writing yesterday’s blog I started to think about advertising in general and the affect it can have on us all. It’s one thing for us to just want (as I did yesterday) or over-zealous sales people to encourage us to go for a higher spec’ but have you ever really taken notice of the advertising we and our children see every day? Along with its messages of “this product is better” there is quite often a message of “you’ll be a better person if you own one of these” or “smart people use this” or some similar type of message. It all helps give us a reason to buy things we don’t need and don’t really want. The problem is that for some it can lead to financial trouble. It’s not just the advertisement message but that message is added to that little joyful feeling we get when we buy ourselves a little luxury. You see it’s like this, you see the advert. That watch will make you look good, you buy it and feel great. Hours later you feel exactly the same as you did before you bought the watch. Another advert, a pair of shoes make the model in the advert look sexy. You buy them, feel great, for a short time, but only a short time. Another advert, clothes, smart looking clothes. Again you buy them and get a short term feeling of pleasure, you get the message. But, all these purchases add up and before you know it the bank account is empty, the credit card is on its limit and there are still bills to pay. You may think the answer is to save for a while but that’s easier than said, why? Well the adverts may have been telling you what to buy and how you’re supposed to feel afterwards but in reality you have an issue somewhere else in your life. The adverts don’t go away and neither does that feeling of needing to feel better than you do. It could be any one of a number of things but one thing is true. You won’t be happy until it is resolved and buying products, no matter how luxurious will not solve that issue. So you buy more “stuff” and get into more debt but don’t feel any better. Before they know it they have a shopping addiction. This is where hypnotherapy can help. It can’t make the debt go away but it’ll help you finally identify what you need to do and bring about the change you seek in yourself and so you can get on with your life, and have greater control over your finances. Now, there is nothing wrong with buying ourselves a little luxury once in a while but, when it gets out of control it’s better to seek help earlier rather than later and take control of your own life.