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The psychological profile of a compulsive buyer

The psychological profile of a compulsive buyer hides a person with emotional and personal problems who tries to fill those gaps through consumerism. However, the act of buying ends up generating guilt and more suffering.

Whether we like it or not, we live in a society oriented toward consumerism. This reality is giving rise to We see more and more frequently a very specific behavioral profile: the compulsive buyer. They are people who make up for their shortcomings, who alleviate their worries, fears or anxieties through the acquisition of products.

“Oniomania”, or shopping addiction, hides, in most cases, a lack of self-control, depression and low self-esteem. They are undoubtedly very complex situations that can reach exhausting limits for both the patient and the family.

When to be happy you must buy, you unintentionally become a compulsive buyer

What is a compulsive buyer like?

One of the great pleasures, for many people, is the action of buying. What happens when we can’t afford to spend large amounts of money buying things we don’t need? Just looking, observing, trying… All this satisfies us, although the joy is not complete.

When shopping is something you do compulsively because, at a certain moment, it brought you pleasure, you may find yourself being a compulsive buyer without knowing it. So, Compulsive buying is also known as oniomania and is characterized by being a kind of “emotional escape.”

Components of compulsive buying

Does shopping really give you pleasure or is it a necessity to be happy? Rather, the latter is what characterizes the compulsive buyer who looks for an escape, a substitute, in each purchase so as not to have to face the real problem.

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For this reason, studies such as the one carried out by Jessica V. Bolton. from Coventry University, they tell us that Behind the compulsive buyer there is always an emotional trigger.

If you have never been a compulsive buyer and it is difficult for you to empathize with this type of profile, today We give you some reasons why a compulsive buyer buys as a necessity. and not as a form of pleasure:

Feel a sense of loneliness and personal emptiness: the person buys believing that in this way they are filling that void they feel. The problem is that this is something that causes momentary pleasure, causing a larger and more compulsive purchase to fill a void that is never filled.You like the feeling of purchasing a new product: when the person buys a new product, the positive emotions and sensations that come to them push them to do it again, something that becomes a loop that is difficult to get out of. The fear of losing a good offer: the person lives around shopping, so if you are in sales season, the fear of losing a good deal makes you feel an uncontrollable desire to buy. Now, there is one last factor that is no less important: These purchases offer fleeting well-being. Often after this acquisition there is regret, guilt, a bad conscience and the feeling that one suffers from a problem.

When I buy it controls me

As we see, The actions of the compulsive buyer are still a type of evasion in the face of a much more serious problem.. Perhaps the person is in a state of depression. There may also be a serious problem in his personal life, but the fear of facing it causes him to need to “distract himself.”

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The big problem arises when one looks for that “escape route” instead of facing the problem and solving it at its roots.The problem is not solved with the purchase and this frustrates him. The big problem is that to replace these new negative emotions, we resort to shopping again. In the end, The compulsive buyer is in a constant loop where there is no possible way out.

The infinite loop

Is there a pattern of behavior on the part of compulsive buyers? What are the phases they go through? There are no more and no less than 4 phases of compulsive buying. They are the following.

Anticipation: thoughts and worries arise around an objecta specific product or about the action of buying itself. Preparation: decisions begin about where to buy, payment, the details of the product… Purchase: an experience that is not only pleasant, but also exciting. The compulsive buyer eagerly awaits the desired moment of purchase.Disappointment: As soon as the purchase is made and the money is spent, feelings of guilt and disappointment arise. Later, anger, resentment and the firm intention of not repeating the behavior arise (something that is not achieved).

Although the compulsive buyer may believe his own lie of not repeating the behavior, the truth is that when the time comes he always relapses. This is why extra help is needed and, at certain times and cases, even the use of drugs.

Buying was just the tip of the iceberg. The harsh reality, the seriousness of the problem, was just below, where nothing could be seen with the naked eye.

Compulsive buying is something that affects more people than expected, usually women, although this does not exempt men from also suffering from it. The big mistake is believing that the problem is in buying, when the reality is that this is just a manifestation of something much more painful and profound.

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All cited sources were reviewed in depth by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, validity and validity. The bibliography in this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.

Hassay, D.N., & Smith, M.C. (1996). Compulsive buying: An examination of the consumption motive. Psychology and Marketing, 13(8), 741–752. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199612)13:8<741::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-FKellett, S., and Bolton, J.V. (2009). Compulsive buying: a cognitive-behavioral model. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 16 (2), 83-99. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.585

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