The shopping spree season is coming, and I believe that many friends have already started to do the Double Eleven strategy. How much do you plan to buy on Double Eleven this year?
While shopping was a snap, it didn’t take long for many people to find that they didn’t need it when faced with those discounted items. Some people even fall into deep regret, puzzled by their previous “crazy” shopping behavior.
So why are people always unable to control the desire to “buy, buy, buy”?
01.
Shopping for relaxation?
Many people think that shopping is a way to relax. When the economy allows, buying and buying your favorite items can get a great sense of pleasure.
From the perspective of external factors, the formation of shopping desire is not only related to the sharp increase of current social pressure, but also to the social trend of advocating consumption. When people are faced with stress and depression, choosing to go shopping has become a way of adjusting to make themselves happy.
But in fact, scientists have used experiments to prove that no matter how external influences are, the shopping behavior itself can produce pleasure. Dopamine, which is produced while shopping, is the “culprit” in all of this.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that acts as a messenger between neurons. The amount of dopamine secreted can significantly affect a person’s mood.
For example, behaviors such as eating food, exercising, and stroking cats can stimulate the secretion of dopamine in the brain, making people feel happy and excited, which makes people get a satisfying pleasure from it, thus forming addiction.
Shopping has the same effect. Whether it is the expectation of shopping harvest, or the visual enjoyment of browsing products in shopping malls and websites, it can stimulate the secretion of dopamine in the brain, thus making people feel euphoric.
02.
Happy is not happy
When dopamine is secreted, it can produce happiness, but when shopping is completed, the concentration of dopamine drops rapidly, and the excitement and satisfaction of the purchased items gradually subside, so there is a sense of remorse.
What’s more, dopamine also changes the neural connections in the cerebral cortex and affects your self-control, which can make it difficult for some people to suppress excessive shopping and spending.
So consumption doesn’t bring real happiness. After the dopamine recedes, it will only become more empty, which will lead to frequent purchases and make the situation worse.
compulsive shopping disorder
Shopping addiction, also known as “compulsive buying disorder,” is a mental illness that may be more common than you think, with one in ten compulsive shoppers.
There are also some patients with compulsive shopping disorder who are resisting their inner depression through consumption. A French survey showed that depression and compulsive shopping have a very high comorbidity rate, with nearly one-third (31.9%) of depressed patients having compulsive shopping behavior.
When we are not happy enough, the moment we see the pictures of warmth and joy in commercial advertisements, there will be an illusion: I will be happy if I buy it. However, it’s also an escape that doesn’t really work in the long run, instead plunging into a deeper shopping addiction.
limited willpower
Scientific research has proved that people’s willpower is limited. When people are resisting pressure and suppressing emotions, their appetite and desire to buy are often more difficult to control.
Therefore, those with high work pressure and frequent overtime are often more prone to shopping spree or overeating.
03.
How to hold your hands
In the face of our uncontrollable desire to shop, what methods can we restrain?
Regular financial management
Cultivating your own financial management habits is a good way to combat the desire to shop. Using part of your income for stable financial management can not only reduce the behavior of buying and buying, but also give people a certain sense of security through savings.
Of course, people who are not familiar with financial products can choose capital-guaranteed products without excessive pursuit of income.
Experience more, consume less
A shopaholic is basically a lack of psychological satisfaction and sense of value. You can satisfy yourself through some experiential activities, such as watching movies, visiting exhibitions, going on outings, exercising, or even taking a bath in a hot spring or going to a restaurant to eat a meal. , are better than shopping.
After a week, we can often recall where we went last week and had a good time, but rarely remember the thrill of shopping. Therefore, it is also consumption. Instead of buying some regrettable products, it is better to come to a valuable experience activity, which can make people feel more pleasant for a long time.
tidy
For those of you who have always enjoyed shopping, organizing your full wardrobe ahead of the holiday season is a great way to avoid over-buying. By organizing, knowing that you already have a lot of things, you will feel less impulsive when shopping. Especially after you are tired and organized, you will be more restrained when you think that it will take more time to buy things and organize them.
When Double Eleven comes, don’t buy blindly, remember that shopping is only to improve the quality of life, rational consumption can get the greatest happiness~