Oniomaniac | Compulsive Need to Buy Things

Oniomaniacs can’t stop shopping

What happens when shopping is a compulsion instead of a hobby? Image from www.designmom.com.

Many people who love spending time at the mall and filling their closets with the latest fashions call themselves “shopaholics.” Usually it’s followed by a laugh or a joke, but this habit can sometimes take the form of a destructive disorder called oniomania, which is the clinical term for the compulsive desire to buy things.

You might know an oniomaniac — someone who is already in debt, already in some kind of trouble but keeps buying more and more stuff. Sometimes oniomania, from the outside, looks like another disorder: hoarding. People who compulsively buy things end up filling their houses to the brim with stuff to the point you can barely get around the house.

Does America create oniomaniacs

It’s not surprising that oniomania exists, especially in a country that has entire historical period called “the rise of consumerism.” The introduction of credit, including loan lenders, in the U.S. changed consumer behavior radically. I highly doubt oniomaniacs would exist if people had to stop buying things as soon as they ran out of money.

Rather, perhaps oniomania would still exist, but people would not be able to act on their compulsions so much. As you can probably tell, I think oniomania is a disturbing and dangerous disease, but why? … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Oniomaniac | Compulsive Need to Buy Things“