Oniomania [oh-nee-uh-mey-nee-uh] (Greek: onios ‘for sale’ and mania ‘insanity’) is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, shopping addiction, shopaholism, compulsive buying or CB. All of these are considered to be either clinical addictions or impulse control disorders, depending on the clinical source. ‘Originally termed oniomania by Kraepelin (1915) and Bleuler (1924), CB has been described for over 100 years’; but though included among other pathological and reactive impulses, CB went largely ignored for the middle quarters of the twentieth century, and even today ‘Compulsive Shopping is a painful yet virtually unknown mental illness.’
‘Some psychiatrists believe compulsive buying is more indicative of an impulse control disorder, others think it is more indicative of an obsessive-compulsive disorder, or bipolar disorder’ or even an addiction. It has been accepted as a disorder by the Deutsche Gesellschaft Zwangserkrankungen (German organization for obsessive-compulsive disorders), for several years; but in the United States, ‘an Impulse control disorder not otherwise specified…is the diagnostic category usually accorded to compulsive buying.’
The following CB diagnostic criteria have been proposed: (1) maladaptive preoocupation with or engagement in buying…; (2) preoocupations or the buying lead to significant distress or impairment; and (3) the buying does not occur exclusively during hypomanic or manic episodes.
‘Psychiatrists do believe that the behavior can be triggered by a need to feel special and to combat loneliness, as well as a hope that shopping will somehow change them for the better. But compulsive shopping satisfies none of those needs and therefore the shopper’s behavior may escalate.’ Similar to other compulsive behaviors, sufferers often experience the highs and lows associated with addiction. ‘Like compulsive shoplifters, compulsive shoppers are caught in a cycle of anxiety: endorphin-fueled highs and guilt-ridden lows.’
Victims often experience moods of satisfaction when they are in the process of purchasing, which ‘gives shopaholics a sort of euphoria, excitement, and ‘high’ that seems to give their life meaning while letting them forget about their sorrows; but ‘there is usually a feeling of disappointment afterwards, followed by guilt’. Once leaving the environment where the purchasing occurred, the feeling of a personal reward may already have gone, so that to compensate, the addicted person goes shopping again in a ‘vicious cycle of repetitive impulse buying…just one more thing to achieve a better self-identity.’
‘Compulsive shoppers are prone to shop in secret as the condition worsens, debt increases, and relationships with family members and friends become strained.’ At the point where bought goods may be hidden or destroyed, because the person concerned feels ashamed of their addiction and tries to conceal it, and ‘when shopping habits involve lying about and hiding purchases, the mental, physical, and emotional toll goes up.’
Shopaholism often has roots in early experience, as ’emotionally deprived persons unconsciously replace what is missing with objects,’ while at the same time ‘voids in one’s identity have their roots in failed parent-child interactions.’ Children who experience parental neglect often grow up with low self-esteem because throughout much of their childhood they experienced that they were not important as a person, and so ‘learned not to turn to people but to substitutes…for comfort,’ with the result that they used toys or food to compensate for their feelings of loneliness.
As with cleptomania, the compulsive purchase ‘means in principle to take possession of things which give the strength or the power to fight supposed dangers, especially…of loss of self-esteem or of affection’: the purchase instead of the toy or the food is substituted for affection. Shopaholics are often unable to deal with their everyday problems, especially those that alter their self-esteem, and many of the issues in their lives can be at least temporarily repressed by buying something.
Social conditions may also play an important role. ‘Given that consumer culture has an increasing impact on our psychological well-being and our sense of identity, compulsive buying has to be considered as a significant modern or postmodern addiction’ – one which has ‘increased so rapidly over the past two decades.’ This is particularly true in ‘capitalist societies, dependent on consumption’, where ubiquitous marketing and advertising promotes a culture wherein ‘high material aspirations drive consumer booms’ by encouraging the creation of artificial needs.
What differentiates oniomania from healthy shopping is this compulsive, destructive and chronic nature of the buying: ‘shopping, undertaken in the spirit of search, could be a constructive process, one that would promote self-definition, self-expression, creativity, even healing…done to excess, it could pose a dangerous threat.’
The consequences of oniomania, which may persist long after a spree, can be devastating, as ‘marriages and long-term relationships…come under severe strain,’ while at the same time ‘compulsive buyers may start to experience difficulties in their work.’ Further practical and emotional problems can include ruined credit history, theft or defalcation of money, defaulted loans, general financial trouble and in some cases financial bankruptcy, ‘extreme levels of debt, anxiety, and frustration, subjective sense of loss of control, and domestic dissensions.’
The Daily Omnivore 
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