Alejandra Cruz
- Do you “take off for the stores” when you’ve experienced a setback or a disappointment, or when you feel angry or scared?
- Are your spending habits emotionally disturbing to you and have they created chaos in you life?
- Do your shopping habits create conflicts between you and someone close to you (spouse, lover, parents, children)?
- Do you buy items with your credit cards that you wouldn’t buy if you had to pay cash?
- When you shop, do you feel a rush of euphoria mixed with feelings of anxiety?
- Do you feel you’re performing a dangerous, reckless or forbidden act when you shop?
- When you return home after shopping, do you feel guilty, ashamed, embarrassed or confused?
- Are many of your purchases seldom or never worn or used?
- Do you lie to your family or friends about what you buy and how much you spend?
- Would you feel “lost” without credit cards?
- Do you think about money excessively – how much you have, how much you owe, how much you wish you had – and then go out and shop again?
- Do you spend a lot of time juggling accounts and bills to accommodate your shopping debts?
The questionnaire was designed to help shoppers distinguish between a healthy shopper and a compulsive shopper. If you answered yes to most of these questions, you may be a shopaholic. Before you hit the mall to soothe yourself, there’s hope. Talk to a friend, counselor or therapist. You’re shopping addiction may be rooted in deeper issues.
