Where To Turn To

So now that you have accepted your addictions and are ready to get help, where do you turn? Well funny you should ask that. LAKEVIEW HEALTH SYSTEMS is one of the top rates rehab facilities and is known for its fabulous shopping addiction rehab. wants to help you.

"Admission into a professional shopping addiction rehab can help you overcome your addiction to shopping and spending. It’s the first step toward living a healthier life. While in shopping addiction rehab, you can expect to undergo individual and group therapy designed to help you uncover the emotional reasons for the development of your addiction. You will learn how to be more financially responsible and discover coping mechanisms to help keep your addiction in check while you shop."

LAKEVIEW HEALTH SYSTEMS They are on call 24/7 so whenever you are brave enough to call they will be waiting. Don't miss out on such an amazing program.

Check out their website, call an operator and begin your new life.

http://www.rehabprogram.com/shopping-addiction

(source: http://www.rehabprogram.com/shopping-addiction)

A Desperate Day In Rehab - 365 Fashion Rehab #1

Testimonials

Up until now I have been giving you the advice and detailing the addiction, but if you took my posts with a grain of salt since I do not have a shopping addiction then this post is for you. Here is proof, from two real women that TREATMENT DOES WORK.

"I can't believe I am even writing this letter but my sponsor urged me to. I need to tell you that if it wasn't for the Freedom Rings program I never would have stayed in treatment. The staff and other patients provided me with unconditional love which made it easier for me to come out and my parents to accept my sexuality. Special thanks to Christie."
Bradley H., 15 months clean and sober, Towson, Md.

"I'm not sure I can get across how grateful I am to Priscilla, my therapist. She helped me deal with a past that stole everything from me. Today my relationship with my family is great and I am accomplishing things I never thought possible. Never give up on yourself."
Sherrie V., Nashville, Tnxs.

(Source rehabprogram.com)

The 12 Step Porgram

Its scary to admit you have a problem, but freeing yourself from your addiction is the only way to take control of your life and save yourself from going down a negative path. Below are 12 steps that are essential to overcoming you addiction and getting you life back.

12 Steps to Recovery from Shopping Addiction & Debt

1. Join a group like DA (Debtors Anonymous) to gain a support structure with people facing similar issues.
2. Create a budget. This will allow you to see all of your finances as an overview and convey the importance of not overspending.
3. Create a plan to pay off debt. Plans should be specific and actionable. What debts do you have, how much do you owe, what are the minimum payments and interest rates, etc.
4. Recognize the difference between need and want. When you go shopping, make a list of “need” items only.
5. Recognize any impulses you may have. Was the impulse for a need or a want? You need to think each impulse through to create awareness. Do NOT beat yourself up over these impulses, just learn from them.
6. Pay by cash. Credit cards are great tools for some, but if you have a shopping compulsion, get rid of your cards! If you need an emergency card, keep it at a family member or friend’s house.
7. When you shop, bring someone with you that is not compulsive. They will serve as a “grounding” force to make sure you don’t go overboard.
8. Separate the classification of who people are from what they own. She is not “Jill, you know… the blonde woman with the nice Mercedes?” She is now “Jill, you know… the woman from Church with the 3 adorable children?”
9. Discount warehouses provide a great savings. But not for people who can’t control their spending! The sheer amount of products in these stores and good bargains may drive you to shop. Would you send a recovering alcoholic to Mardi Gras? A gambling addict to Las Vegas?
10. Try and figure out why your impulses are there. You keep having an urge for fancy dinners. Is it because you associate that with love? What would meet that need but be healthier for you, mentally and financially? A picnic in the park? A homemade dinner?
11. If you truly enjoy window shopping, do it after hours when all the stores are closed. Or do it without bringing a wallet. Either way, you get to look, but can’t buy.
12. Finally, you have gained power over your spending. You control your spending, now… not the other way around.

(Source MyLifeRoi.com)

Seeking Help

Have you associated your shopping habits to any of the traits below? Can you identify with anything of the signs on this site? Maybe you have had a significant change in your life, your spending habbits have gotten out of control or your loved ones have had it. Whatever the reason if you have sought out treatment for your addiction I want to hear about it. Let everyone know your success story.

WZTV Interview on Shopping Addiction

True Life: I'm A Compulsive Shopper

Are these girls like you? While MTV may not always be known for creating quality television but their show True Life is a bright spot in the networks schedule. In this episode of True Life shopping addictions are examined and put on display for the world to see.

So ask yourself, can you relate to these girls? Has your family or loved ones been effected by your shopping? Have you been evicted or are you paying bills late?

What is "shopping addiction"?

And here we have the scientific version of what a shopaholic is. In case you haven't been able to identify with any of the descriptions I have listed, let Dr. Marc Kern put it out there.

Type 6: The Horder

I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.

-Tammy Faye Bakker

Do you keep everything, and I mean everything you buy?

Do you have issues of Vogue circa 1975 stacked to the ceiling?

Do you feel an emotional attachemnet to your belongings, so much so that you cant get rid of them?

Is you home so cluttered that you virtually have no open space?

Type 5: Shopping for Love

Whoever said money cant buy happiness simply didnt know where to go shopping.

-Bo Derek

When you are feeling overwhelmed does shopping calm you down?

If you are going to celebrate an accomplishment, do you buy yourself something?

If something sad or depressing happens to you do you shop to lift your spirits?

Are you shopping to fill a void in your life?>

Type 4: Visa, Visa, Master Card

When I was 7 most of my freinds stopped believeing in magic. That's when I first started believing. They were beautiful, they were happy. They didnt even need money, they had magic cards.

-Rebecca Bloomwood

1. Do you spend money you don’t have by using a credit card and saying you will pay it off later?
2. Have you accumulated more than $5000 worth of debt.
3. Do you have more than 3 credit cards that you are currently trying to pay off?
4. Have you ever been harassed by a credit card company for a payment?

Type 3: Home Shopping Network On Speed Dial

If I like it I'll buy it, pure impulsive shopping.

Kristin Kreuk

Have you ordered more than 3 things in one day?

Is the television shopping number on speed dial?

Does the operator recognize your voice?

Does the UPS delivery man consider you a friend since he drops of packages all the time?

Type 2: The Online Temptress

The quickets way to know a woman is to go shopping with her.

-Marcelene Cox

Do you have over 17 shopping sites bookmarked?

Do you have all of your credit card numbers memorized?

Do you stay up all night on the computer?

Can you just “window shop” online?

Type 1:Window Shopper Gone Wrong

I don't shop because I need something, I shop for shoppings sake.

-Cat Deeley

Can you walk past a store without walking in and buying something?

Can you walk past a sale sign without going in?

Do you feel a strong pull to go into a store you know is to expensive?

Do you to pretend you can afford items even though you cant?

Come One Come All...

Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase.
-- Erma Bombeck

Shopping for love? Shopping for attention? Shopping for self worth?

Next time you walk through the plexi glass doors of the mall, pile up items in your cart at Target or when you stay up until the sunrise waiting for an item to appear on the Home Shopping Network, ask yourself what is making you shop? Every red blooded man, women and child has been to the mall, it is estimated that women spend up to three years of their lives shopping, so why you may ask is your habbit a problem? Well shopping, like alcohol and other substances can be addicting.

Sure it sounds like a hoax, a myth that a group of annoyed boyfriends and husbands concocted to make you cut up your credit cards and frequent buyers cards. But the reality is that just like alcohol and drugs, you can be ADDICTED TO SHOPPING.

This blog you will show you solid evidence that will prove that the sensations that arise when you see a sale, buy a new outfit or outbid the competition on Ebay are in certain situations addictive. But don't turn away yet, read through the 6 Types of Shopping Addicts, see if you relate, and the studies from addiction specialists and see if they apply to you.

So, ladies, put your freshly pedicured feet up and pour yourself a glass of pinot grigio and enjoy this little corner of the blogasphere,