I am struggling with not spending money at the moment. Every day I have this complusive need to leave the house and spend spend spend.There are loads of beautiful summer clothes and shoes in the shops at the moment. I keep telling myself I don’t need this and I don’t need that and have cut up all my store cards. However I did need some summer clothes I successfully have lost 2 stone after reading marisa Peer’s book ‘You can be slim’ and so i went out and bought myself new clothes. My heart was pounding oh it was so exciting. Stood at the till with piles upon piles of clothes a shopping frenzie of excitement began. I got so excited I couldn’t look at the shop assistant in the face. I shook inside with the anxiety and the thrill of shopping trip. I loaded all the bags into the boot of my car and THEN I felt sick. I was sick of what I had done. I had fallen off the wagon. I couldn’t pluck up the courage to go straight back to the shop that same day. Perhaps if I waited I would see a different girl at the checkout and not feel so embarrassed another day.Then I had to get the shopping in the house, past my husband, up the stairs and hidden away. I managed to hide them away without him seeing. I felt sick and ashamed of myself. Yesterday I took clothes back to the shop, I went to the same branch in a different town. Luckily I was just within the return date. I was slipping back into my old ways again. So I did some work on myself and some self talk, telling myself ‘I am enough, I am enough’ I reflected on all the material wealth I have and what I did and didn’t need (got the idea out of Marisa’s book) I went through my clothes and worked out what I NEEDED for the summer and I donated my old fat clothes to the homeless . Thankfully I put some money back into my account from returning clothes.Oh I felt better. So much better after I corrected my shopping blip.  ok I guess I fell off the wagon. I guess I got away with it this time. Thankfully I took the majority of the clothes back to the shops and I am not too ashamed of myself. But If I do this again I fear I could become what the womens magazines call a ‘bulimic shopper’.

WOW Chloe

We all fall victim to this from time to time and you are only human, so we are all allowed to make mistakes.  You need to pat yourself on your back more often for the things you do right, rather than the things you dont do as well.  If you are struggling, please do not struggle on your own, please seek help, it is there for you if you need it. 

Well done for loosing the weight and now you are looking to treat your lovely new figure to clothes.  Have a budget and only draw out cash is one solution.

Taking control in all areas of your life is more difficult, to loose weight and not spend, well firstly Congratulation at loosing weight, that is an incredible thing to do.  As for shopping, you want to treat yourself, yes I understand,  how about a trip to the hairdressers, takes longer and the effect lasts longer and is generally cheaper.

Well done and be proud, you may have spent, but you took it back, you fixed yourself very quickly and efficiently.

Get ready though, as I have a message for you, a new man seeks your attention, or a marriage proposal is on the cards, now that will keep you busy!!!

Love Greenlady

yes he does but I am married with a little girl and I love my husband dearly. Or should i say it’s dearly for him when I spend all his money !!!

Dear All, I’m pleased to see that problems like depression and its symptoms (in my case) like being a shopaholic are getting more airtime.  Hopefully this will encourage people to seek help with their illness and their problems.  As people learn more about the illness it takes the stigma away from it. 

I have been contacted by the BBC who are making a documentary about shopaholism.  I will be involved in the filming.  If anyone feels they would like to be involved to whether you are still struggling with a shopping addiction, or if you think you may have one or have conquered it, do get in touch.  Here is the email that they sent to describe what the documentary will be about:

I am writing to you on behalf of CTVC, a registered charity and independent television production company in London. The BBC have asked us to do a documentary about people who are addicted to shopping, and they want us to explore the psychological reasons as to why this addiction develops, the disastrous impact this can have on your life, and the road to recovery.  I was hoping that someone still addicted, or someone on the way to recovery, would be willing to talk openly about his/her experiences.

I do appreciate this can be a sensitive issue, and we would treat the subject with the utmost respect, approaching it in the spirit of raising awareness and educating the public. Please do have a quick look at our website to get a feel for what we do: http://www.ctvc.co.uk/”>www.ctvc.co.uk.

Best wishes,
Helen