credit card information or payment data from all pages on which those affected have made purchases so far. A potential purchase is of course not made impossible in this way, but it is made more difficult in a certain way. If the person concerned has to enter his or her payment data, he or she will gain time to question himself or herself and his or her current actions and possibly even cancel them.
With the help of youth protection, affected persons can even block entire pages and prevent themselves from shopping. The best thing to do is to ask a trusted third party to block the pages. This prevents the temptation to simply release the pages again with the help of a PIN.
Advertising blockers or filters can help shield some prohibited stimuli from themselves and completely eliminate advertising on the Internet. This makes it easy to eliminate various temptations while surfing.
In general, this should be avoided in the future, online, via television channels or catalogues shopping. In order to minimize the risk of relapse, catalogues should be cancelled or the corresponding television channels blocked.
In addition, a list can be created with all the things that the affected person already has or even position them clearly visible in the apartment. It is also a good idea to carry this list with you when you shop, and even to take it out at times of doubt and remember that you already own this product. In particular, products that have not yet been unpacked or even used should be listed. On the one hand this measure serves as a deterrent, on the other hand it makes the person concerned aware of which things he does not need at all and therefore does not have to buy.
Purchases should be limited to the essential necessary products. "Just like that''' through the shopping mile or visit department stores during the pre-Christmas period should be avoided at first. Special sales, sales or discount campaigns by department stores should also not be used for shopping, so that those affected are not tempted to buy something unnecessary in the first place. Non-affected people can imagine a shopping spree for a shopping addict who is on "withdrawal" as if a dry alcoholic were visiting a bar. Often the company of a friend or family member who supervises the purchase helps. It can help many affected people to write down a list of places they should avoid and carry with them. In addition to shopping centres, weekly markets and pedestrian zones, there may be other places on the list where people are confronted with advertising.
The evening commercial break in the TV should be avoided in the beginning time possibly also. Asking the partner to switch, switching briefly to still at the beginning or consciously focusing on relaxation methods can help regulate thoughts about shopping.
It is even recommended not to travel at the beginning of a treatment against shopping addiction. In foreign places, most people tend to buy things that are not necessary at all and spend money unnecessarily.
Learning relaxation methods such as autogenic training, breathing exercises or yoga can help relieve stress. Endurance or weight training can also have a positive effect. The connection is relatively simple: in stressful situations, various hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released. If the body is not able to break down these stress hormones, these tensions affect the psyche and can be discharged in a shopping frenzy. If, however, the body is able to break down these hormones through movement, the psyche and body return to a relaxed state. If you also learn to consciously relax your body, you can influence psychological relaxation through physical relaxation. The perception of mind and body is an important aspect of relaxation methods and even helps to improve self-control. Buying addicts who have problems with this self-control should therefore try out whether one of the many relaxation methods helps them.
However, it should be noted that these tips provide a remedy in acute cases, but only serve to combat symptoms and stop or suppress the delusion of buying. They primarily serve the self-protection of the person concerned, who should not get himself further into financial distress. There is even the danger that if shopping is completely prevented, another addiction will occur. Since those affected suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms as a result of the sudden compulsion to end their shopping addiction, the accumulated feelings and aggressiveness can be channelled into other coercive acts or an addiction.
The causes, the inner conflicts and problems, are still present and must be treated on a long-term basis. Therefore, it is often not sufficient to apply only the first aid measures mentioned above. The causes cannot be eliminated, but in the course of a therapy the affected person can learn which events in the past triggered the shopping addiction in the first place. Acceptance of the past, insight and the learning of new behaviours then come first. The central question that those affected must ask themselves is: WHAT am I missing? What do I try to compensate through my buying behavior? These can be affection, love, recognition, but also the lack of meaningful activity. What can I do to be satisfied with myself and my life again?
Debt due to buying addiction
EC cards, credit cards or other forms of cashless payment quickly tempt you to lose track of your finances. Buying addicts, however, not only lose the feeling of their own financial possibilities, they usually simply ignore them completely. Buying addicts are well aware that they clearly exceed their financial limits. However, this does not prevent them from doing it again and again, because they are far too absorbed by their compulsive behaviour for that. The possibility of obtaining credit or borrowing money from banks makes it easier for people with a shopping addiction to pursue their addiction. If these possibilities are exhausted, it can happen that money is borrowed from friends or family. If this is the case, the true purpose of use is concealed. The affected person increasingly gets feelings of guilt, because in this case the personal component plays an important role. He tries to suppress these feelings of guilt by shopping, which drives him further and further into the negative spiral.
A longer period of time usually elapses before the treatment of shopping addiction can be achieved. Since the people concerned have purchased far more than their financial means, a relatively large mountain of debt has accumulated over this period. Financial problems are thus one of many consequences of buying addiction. It is typical that the exact amount of debt is not even known to those affected. Because reminders and invoices are often thrown away unread.
Many people who are addicted to buying withdraw completely or, depending on their personality, can develop the fixed idea of obtaining money illegally when their money reserves have been used up or when their partner has taken their credit card and cash from them in order to stop the buying frenzy. Often they are involved in theft or drug trafficking, which sooner or later leads to legal consequences.
If bills are not paid, the affected persons may be reported for fraud under certain circumstances. In such a case, punitive circumstances due to shopping addiction must not be expected. As long as shopping addiction has not been recognised as an illness in its own right, defendants cannot hope for a reduction in punishment. However, if the addiction to shopping occurs in combination with another serious condition where the addiction to shopping only occurs as a symptom, the assessment may be different. Due to the lack of recognition of addiction and public debate on both a social and scientific level, many court experts have to impose appropriate conditions and write assessments in the event of shopping addiction. Often a stay in a forensic or closed psychiatric institution is planned.
Another difficulty that arises in the case of buying addiction: a private bankruptcy cannot be applied for if the debts occur in connection with a criminal offence. However, since many shopping addicts often have numerous advertisements from mail-order companies for fraud, the offence is in most cases committed.
In any case, it is worth accepting the help of a debt counsellor who can help you get an overview of your finances and draw up a debt reduction plan. Depending on the scope of services, the creditor then contacts the creditors and agrees repayment formalities.
Outpatient behavioural therapy
Behavioural therapy is a method in the field of psychotherapy. The method of behavioural therapy is often described as helping people to help themselves. In essence, the approach is to make the causes of the problems clear to the patient after he has seen them and how this behaviour has become entrenched in the past. However, the focus of behavioural therapy should be on providing the patient with various methods to help