My shopping problem

Hi my name is Sarah and I'm a shopaholic.

What started off as an acceptable interest in shopping has slowly become what feels like a full blown addiction. I need to be stopped!  I'm obviously past the denial stage in this situation and onto the 'how do I cure this' stage. I know every girl loves beautiful things, but where do we draw the line? When is enough really enough?

Here is the dilemma: I'm not a rich kid from Beverly Hills, I don't have a high-powered corporate job and unfortunately no sugar daddy with a platinum credit card. I have a monthly budget, varied expenses and a savings account that's looking quite pathetic at the moment. Now don't start thinking I'm in debt and that I have overused accounts at different stores. I'm the everyday ordinary female you find at the mall once a week (and for a few extra hours on pay day). I don't have designer clothes, I shop at places like Edgars, Mr Price and Woolworths. I carefully select each item of clothing or accessory or beauty product I buy.

The fact of the matter is that my shopping problem is in my head most of the time, thinking constantly of the next thing that I need to buy. Whether I saw it in Cosmo, or a friend has it, or Jeannie Mai from Style network has told me to get it, it all goes on the list. Yes, I have a list of things that I think I need, that I add to every now and then. That list never actually gets wiped clean because I find something new to replace the other thing I just got. When I find myself walking out of the mall with satisfaction that I can only relate to eating your favourite meal, I feel on top of the world clutching my shopping bags. Its exciting, its evanescent, and then its over. That is simply why I call it an addiction, once you have your fix, you need more, and more is never enough.

The problem is that happiness doesn't come in a shopping bag, but it sure does feel awesome in that brief moment. Take it from someone whose heart rate increases as she passes the shoe section. I doubt this shopping problem of mine will ever dwindle, because I will always want for something. The difference is that I am conscious of society's obsession with mindless buying. I might be a part of it but I feel that I can control the outcome. It doesn't make me materialistic,  it just makes me a common consumer. That's my excuse. x