Why Online Shopping Is Tanking Your Mental Health

Recently, I wanted a new pair of leather sandals. I narrowed my search down to a few favorite pairs, then compared prices before scouring the reviews. An hour later, I was still pondering which pair was the cutest, how much money I should spend, and whether the company’s return policy was good enough, should I change my mind. My brain was reeling. What used to be a pleasant experience at a physical store—shoe-buying—was now majorly stressing me out, alone in front of my screen. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Going shopping used to be known as “retail therapy.” Indeed, research has shown that traditional brick-and-mortar shopping can ease sadness, at least temporarily, and give people a sense of control. Online shopping, however, is often overwhelming for your brain. Both shopping and the internet can be addictive, and combining them creates a dopamine rush, says Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Stanford Medicine—who studies compulsive buying disorder, or shopping addiction—and director of the Stanford OCD Clinic. “Online, the urge to shop can be satisfied much more quickly, making it more difficult to resist.” Anxiety and depression seem to intensify those effects. “One thing that can certainly make it riskier is something like untreated depression, because people are looking for a quick, temporary boost to their mood.” I was looking for such a mood boost dur...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Evergreen freelance healthscienceclimate Source Type: news