The NHS says, external it is possible to become addicted to just about anything – but there’s no distinct diagnosis for a shopping addiction.
One reason is because experts dispute how to classify it, with some believing it is a behavioural addiction, while others link it to mood or obsessive compulsive disorders.
Professor of addiction at the University of York Ian Hamilton says shopping addiction has “caught psychiatry on the back foot”.
The expert, who has worked in the field for three decades, said he believes we are still two or three years from the disorder being more widely recognised as a formal diagnosis.
Prof Hamilton says the retail sector has lifted some of the strategies used by the gambling industry to keep people engaged online.
“I don’t think it’s any accident that people find it difficult once they start this loop of spending, buying, feeling good then having remorse.”
The academic adds the rise of influencers is not just a coincidence.
“It’s one thing having an item described to you, [but that] doesn’t have the same impact as seeing a glossy well-put together video package which extols the virtue of an item and only shows the positives.”
Pamela Roberts, psychotherapist at the healthcare provider Priory Group, is clear: “We need to learn different coping strategies but we can only learn [them] when it’s recognised as a problem – and that’s only done when it’s made official,” she adds.
An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS Talking Therapies provides treatment for a range of conditions including OCD and provides practical skills and techniques to help cope.”
They added that anyone struggling with obsessive and compulsive behaviour can contact their GP or refer themselves for therapy.