Why We Buy Things We Don ’ t Need

Searching for an explanation for compulsive shopping, I recently ran across the story of a woman who couldn’t stop buying rabbits. Her husband told doctors that each day, she would visit the market and return home with yet another furry creature in a compulsive habit that appeared almost like an addiction. Then she would feel guilty about all the rabbits she had purchased. The reason this 70-year-old woman was suddenly buying so many rabbits? She had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, which scientists believe is caused by a lack of dopamine in some parts of the brain, and she had then been put on drugs to trick her brain into believing it was getting the dopamine it needed. But some patients who received these “dopaminergic” drugs started compulsively shopping, gambling, and binge eating—their brains were getting inundated with dopamine, which made rewarding behavior feel even better than usual. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] I think about the woman who bought so many rabbits every time I look at the many recent Amazon orders on my account, or receive a new package on my doorstep and scurry to move it inside so my neighbors don’t judge my consumption habits. I know that buying more new stuff is bad for the planet—the production and use of household goods and services was found to drive 60% of greenhouse gas emissions—but every time I buy something, I get a little jolt of happiness that’s hard to give u...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized biztech2030 climate change Retail Sustainability TIME 2030 Source Type: news