All-Consuming Problem

Even in a Weak Economy, Some Shoppers' Compulsive Habits Can Take Over Their Lives

Shannon Hassemer went on a shopping spree when she got her first credit card in college. Tired of owning just one pair of tennis shoes, she quickly filled her closet with luxury items from designers such as Gucci, Coach and Louis Vuitton.

"I wanted to fit in," she said. "I was tired of looking like a boy."

It was a boost to her self-esteem, which she describes as particularly low. Over the years, shopping became a source of comfort. It was a daily habit. When she had children, she started buying them expensive clothing. Now at 36, shopping has become a source of pain. She has enrolled in a debt-consolidation program to pay down the $35,000 she owes on her credit cards, and she is getting therapy once a week.

"When I'm unhappy, I want to shop to make myself happy," said the mother of two from Bakersfield, Calif. "I'm happy for a brief moment and then angry with myself because I've spent money."

Hassemer is not unlike many Americans. According to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 5.8 percent of Americans are compulsive buyers. They buy things they don't necessarily need or can't afford to the point that it affects their relationships, their finances and/or their health. Even mounting bills aren't enough to keep some hard-core shopaholics from spending money on clothing, vacations or meals at fine restaurants, psychiatrists and financial planners said. In some cases, these experts said, a flailing economy encourages such behavior. But compulsive shopping can be especially destructive when the job market, and economy in general, are so uncertain, they said.

"For people already in the throes of addiction, the economy tanking is just another stressor," said Terry Shulman, a Detroit therapist who specializes in addictions. "It's no different than the alcoholic afraid of losing a job or money, but they're still drinking. I think particularly if people feel, 'I'm not going to have a retirement fund, I'm not going to be able to afford the house of my dreams, then I'm going to get nice things, clothing, electronics.' "

Kim Reed, a financial planner with Allison Brentwood Financial Planning in Chevy Chase, said she has seen compulsive shoppers jeopardize their retirement savings and entire net worth.

"They tend to think their credit card is an extension of their income," she said. "As a result, they carry debt, and it's a drag on their balance sheet. They spend 10 years paying down a Prada dress . . . They lose the opportunity to purchase an appreciating asset because they bought a depreciating asset. The more debt you service, the more credit card debt you have, the less you can save in a retirement fund, the less you can park in an emergency fund."

The easy access to credit, aggressive advertising by retailers and availability of goods on the Internet has made compulsive buying a more visible problem in recent years, psychiatrists and financial planners say. It happens to both men and women and is more common among those making less than $50,000 a year, according to the study in the journal. It is so widespread that the American Psychiatric Association has for years been discussing including compulsive buying in its manual of mental disorders, which it plans to finish updating by 2012.

It is not an easy problem to solve, psychiatrists said, because shopping is so ingrained in the American psyche. One could even call it an American pastime. Want proof that there is a national obsession with material goods? Just flip through Us Weekly or watch the new "Sex and the City" movie.

"It's the ideology of America that you are what you own," said Lorrin Koran, a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University's medical school who co-authored the 2006 American Journal of Psychiatry study. "You're encouraged to identify yourself and value yourself based on what you own or buy or display."

Stephon McMillian, a 19-year-old student at the University of the District of Columbia, can attest to that. "You have to look a certain way," he said.