Article August 24, 2009 Issue

PUTTING A STOP TO RETAIL THERAPY

BY JODIE SWALES

People joke about retail therapy—buying things to make you happy. In fact there's even a movie about it called Confessions of a Shopaholic. But when you're caught in the middle of that behavior, shopping compulsively for things you don't need, it's no joke.

I used to have a habit of buying things to make me feel good. I particularly used to do it when I was working in jobs I didn't enjoy, jobs that I didn't feel used my God-given talents. I justified my behavior by thinking, "If I have to work in this stupid job, at least I'm going to make earning money worthwhile by buying nice things." The problem was, the "high" I felt from buying something nice never lasted, and was often replaced by guilt that I had overspent on unnecessary items.

One time, this all came to a head, and I realized I wanted to pray about my actions.

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