On the day of "double 11", 100,000 yuan was spent overnight? On November 11th, Ms. Zhu, 42, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, was sent to hospital for medical treatment by her husband for shopping spree. Subsequently, Ms. Zhu was diagnosed as a "compulsive shopping obstacle".
What is a "compulsive shopping obstacle"? Is this behavior controllable?
On November 14th, Wu Yuejing, a mental health doctor in Zhejiang Hospital and a doctor attending Ms. Zhu, said in an interview with The Paper that compulsive shopping refers to excessive consumption caused by irresistible and uncontrollable impulses and spending a lot of time on shopping — — It is usually caused by negative emotions and eventually leads to social, interpersonal and economic difficulties.
Wu Yuejing introduced that Ms. Zhu spent 100,000 yuan online shopping overnight, which is comparable to "drug addiction and gambling".
Wu Yuejing said that on November 11, Ms. Zhu went to the hospital for consultation accompanied by her husband. Wu Yuejing learned that a month ago, Ms. Zhu felt too much pressure at work, resigned at home and was more anxious. Ms. Zhu usually loves shopping, but the cost is not so exaggerated. At present, Ms. Zhu is diagnosed as compulsive shopping disorder.
Wu Yuejing said that at present, compulsive shopping disorder is not listed in the diagnosis of mental illness. However, the concept of "compulsive shopping behavior" has a history of more than 100 years in psychology, and it belongs to a psychological obstacle. Biological factors and psychological factors, including pursuing perfectionism and alleviating loneliness, are the factors that cause compulsive shopping obstacles. Among the people who have compulsive shopping behavior, most of them are women. In fact, this kind of behavior may exist among men, women and children.
Wu Yuejing suggested that if Ms. Zhu relieves her anxiety and depression through online shopping, she needs to receive psychotherapy as soon as possible. Secondly, shoppers need to examine their shopping behavior and constantly train their self-management financial ability. If shoppers have psychological problems, it is necessary to take psychological intervention.
According to WeChat official account, the official WeChat of Zhejiang Hospital, on November 11th, even if they are both shopaholics, not all of them are compulsive shoppers. Wu Wanzhen, deputy director of the mental health department of the hospital, said that patients with bipolar disorder may also spend money excessively during manic episodes, so it is impossible to simply equate "shopaholics" with patients with compulsive shopping disorders.
The Paper noted that such "compulsive shopping barriers" often occur. According to a report by Chengdu Business Daily on November 13, 2019, Wang, a man from Luzhou, Sichuan, sat on the rooftop on the evening of the 10th and tried to commit suicide. The police inquired that his wife still refused to listen to dissuasion after she owed 260,000 yuan for her obsession with online shopping last year, and owed more than 360,000 yuan for shopping again this year. Some experts said that Wang’s wife’s behavior has the problem of "impulse control disorder", which requires consultation and treatment in a psychiatric clinic.
According to media reports in December 2017, Xiao Dan (a pseudonym), a 24-year-old girl from Heyuan, Guangdong Province, borrowed money from 45 online lending platforms for shopping in just one year and owed 260,000 yuan in debt. Xiao Dan said that she can’t help shopping, and sometimes she doesn’t even know what she bought. After examination by a psychologist, Xiao Dan suffers from severe depression and bipolar affective disorder.