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depression and shopping

mjh
Community Member
was wondering if shopping online to make you happy is apart of the depression whenever I buy stuff I feel good then later it all comes crashing down again its been a hard road still fighting these evil thing in my head
5 Replies 5

Zeal
Community Member

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

Shopping to make you feel better doesn't, by itself, indicate that you're suffering from depression. Common signs that you have depression include: withdrawing from family/friends, not enjoying previously enjoyed activtities, thoughts such as "I'm a failure" or "Life's not worth living"; feelings such as being overwhelmed, frustrated, miserable and sad, and guilty. Some common physical signs of depression include: being tired all the time, getting headaches and muscle pain, poor sleep, appetite changes, and significant weight gain or loss. There are some great fact sheets on beyond blue about depression, which go into more detail.

It's okay if you don't feel comfortable sharing much personal information. However, there are some important questions to consider. Firstly, have you been diagnosed with depression or another mental illness in the past? Second, how long has the constant shopping been going on for? Third, is the online shopping affecting many aspects of your life (e.g. finances, time management etc.)? Compulsive shopping is a very real problem. It can lead to intense guilt, negatively impacts finances (which can lead to relationship problems), is used to mask the underlying issue, and also results in an excess of possessions. I met a lady on a mental health hospital ward who was there for her shopping addiction.

If you are concerned, I would recommend seeing your doctor. He/she can talk things through with you, and may refer you to a counsellor or psychologist if it's necessary.

I hope this post was somewhat helpful for you 🙂

Best wishes,

SM

mjh
Community Member
thank you for the reply I have been diognast with depression and anxiety and have been told I may have had it for a long time as I tick all the boxes im very withdrawn from everyone in my life ,my wife has been good in helping me ,my moods swing very fast and I feel helpless doom and gloom comes very fast the shopping part has just started as I got worse pushing my wife to the brink ,im seing a therapist but the demonds are very strong the older I get the worse it gets ,in the younger years I drank a lot of alchol and took drugs which the doctors say masked it all I joined here to learn about this wicked thing thanks

gibby3794
Community Member
hi mjm i am bad when it comes to online shopping, i even managed to do it when i had no money hahah, my biggest online shop was for 2 grand, i found a website that had really cheap things (incase you dont know it i will not tell you LOL), i spent 2 grand in one hit on a 55" 3D android tv for me, 2 42" hd tv's 1 for by little brother and 1 for my little sister (Christmas presents) a steam mop and a robot vacuum, due to the bank account i had at the time which would let anything on credit come out for 3 days and then bounce paypal thought they had the payment and paid the online shop, i then received the stuff and ended up with a 2 grand bill from paypal, i felt food buying the stuff, until i later had to sell my tv to buy a car and then was stuck with a 2k debt im still unable to pay back 18 months later, now i physically cant buy stuff online without the money in my acct and i never have much so i now can only buy little items like phone cases, car chargers etc (even though i dont have a car i still brought car chargers) so i am one to shop online because i feel good and then later regret the spending haha 

faireetay
Community Member

heya I'm tay ☺️ I definitely struggle with this too. shopping and my mental illnesses/ autism/ OCD/ depression all seem to go together in a vicious cycle so your not alone. I have been battling this almost all of this year. I found after pay and pay pal pay in four the worst and I'm trying to pay them off and stay away from them. Mine has also made me sad so I try to focus on the positive. I'm also trying to do more ethical things and environmentally friendly things and hopefully that will save me from this addiction in the end. I hope you beat your addiction as well 🧚🏻‍♀️

faireetay

thanks for your post. It has been a long time since some one wrote here  so  you may want to start your own thread about shopping too much in,I e. Years ago I closed my eBay account as I was over spending.