Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - Shopping solely for the purpose of improving one's mood is dubbed as "retail therapy" which could lead to the habit of compulsive spending. This habit, once it becomes uncontrollable, should be addressed as it can lead to financial debts and family conflicts.

The Brunei Times yesterday set out to investigate the existence of this phenomena by interviewing two renowned psychologists in the country to shed light on the what, the why and the how of this mysterious habit.

Dr Syed Masroor Ali, a psychiatrist from Ripas hospital, said that retail therapy does exist but comes under one of the associative factors that is lined with other psychiatric illnesses.

He said that it is not an isolated illness but a part of the factors that influence disorders, such as the bipolar mood disorder. This disorder is induced by two factors, mainly depression and mania.

Dr Syed stated that compulsive spending is stemmed from mania, which is a phenomenon that displays high mood levels that transforms individuals into behaving hyperactively.

The individual would also have the inability to sit still and in this case, spend a lot of money unnecessarily, he said.

Giving the example of a patient he used to treat who lived on five credit cards, Dr Syed related that the patient received a monthly salary of $2,300 but had to pay a minimum of $1,600 to pay off his credit cards.

According to the psychiatrist, the patient knew that living on $700 was not enough as he also had a family to support. "The vicious cycle got to the patient and he was declared bankrupt after awhile. The repercussion of it was catastrophic and it became too much for him to bear."

Dr Syed went on to say that the consequences of incessant spending made the patient depressed and attracted problems like family conflict.

These compulsive behaviors, like most behavioral disorders, come from biological factors, said Dr Syed.

"Inheritance of the disorder stems from the genes. However, as much as it can increase incidence, it can also be controlled," he added.

The psychiatrist said that although the factors are genetically linked, the attitudes can change if there is a strong family unit and the individual is raised in a stable environment.

"Everybody has a role in this problem. One member of the family should help control the spending and notice this abnormal behavior so that they can get help," he said.

Dr Syed also stressed that there should be more awareness on the need to cut down on unnecessary spending. "If the person is aware, at least they can take the precautions to ask for help before it gets worse."

"People suffering from this manic compulsive disorder should first seek counseling as a way to control the emotional instability," said Dr Syed, adding that there are also some prescription drugs that can help curb the extreme impulsive activity.

He further suggested going to banks for some financial advise as it is the source and root of where the money comes from.

Todd McPherson, a psychiatrist from Riverview Medical Facility, told the other side of retail therapy and also offered expert advice.

Acknowledging the fact that retail therapy exists, Dr McPherson stated that it can be acceptable if there is a therapeutic agenda behind it.

"If it makes an individual feel better and it has therapeutic benefits, then it shouldn't be harmful," he said.

He stated that the reason why individuals become addicted to shopping is similar to the reasons why people smoke, drink or do drugs. "It's just a shortcut to making you feel good. Because of this, it makes it harder to stop," he said.

He also stated that the reason for compulsive shopping is because it is part of the new society that is obsessed with material things which become needs rather than wants. "It has become part of our culture to have something new and exciting. Having something new and fashionable always makes people feel good," he said.

However, like Dr Syed, he stated that if it becomes uncontrollable and puts the individual in situations where they become worried about debts or if it develops conflicts within the family, then the matter should be addressed.

He stated that if the individual starts feeling troubled or conflicted, it wouldn't be very good in the long run as being in pools of debt has been known to cause bankruptcy and divorce.

"Having to be worried about money 24 hours a day can be bad and quite grueling for some people," he said.

Dr McPherson also said that it depends on the financial situation of the person. "If you have lots of money and you like to spend and it makes you feel better, then I suppose it's a good thing, but if it is going to cause a person more harm, I would definitely advise against it."

He urged those who face retail problems to find a way to get someone to help with their finances. He suggested that they should take away their credit cards and seek counseling to assist in the control of spending.

"Talk to someone so you can find a way to overcome the problem. If you can deal with the spending problem then you can certainly deal with getting to the root of the problem, which is putting your spending habits under control," he said. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times