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Two South Mumbai women seek medical help for obsessive shopping

Two SoBo women, both in their mid-20s, for whom shopping was an obsession are now undergoing treatment at Sir JJ Group of hospitals.

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Shopping can hurt -- not just your purse, but your psyche, too.

Two SoBo women, both in their mid-20s, for whom shopping was an obsession are now undergoing treatment at Sir JJ Group of hospitals.

"They used to buy bags, clothes and accessories every week to a far greater extent than required," said Dr Sagar Mundada, psychiatrist at JJ.

Both are suffering from what is called Oniomania (shopaholic in layman's language). The two used to draw monthly salaries of Rs 50,000-55,000 and splurged the entire money.

Initially, family members dismissed it as a typical girlish fetish. But later, when alarm bells started ringing, they sought psychiatric help.

"They felt guilty about their pre-occupation, but unless they did that, they felt very distressed," he said. These are obvious symptoms of Oniomania, he said.

"Such people are also likely to have other mental issues like mood disorders, anxiety and substance addictions," Mundada said.

"An irresistible and excessive desire to shop is known as Compulsive Buying Disorder or Oniomania," he explained.

Oniomania forms 5-10% of psychiatric illnesses. The numbers could be more as many people are not aware of it and, hence, the disease is under-reported.

To identify an oniomaniac, one needs to check if the person has four or more of the following tendencies: spending in excess of budget, buying more than what is required, keeping shopping obsession a secret, feeling guilty after shopping, deteriorating relationship due to shopping preoccupation, shopping to eliminate anger, depression or loneliness and arguing with people.

"These two women had low self-esteem too and they are currently undergoing behavourial therapy," said Dr Mundada.

Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist at Dr LH Hiranandani hospital says: "Oniomania was always there. People need to be aware of it."

Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla, psychiatrist with Masina hospital, paints an alarming scene. "With online shopping, Oniomania can hit more people, says. "It is easy to buy things online now. Affected persons can end up with huge credit card bills."

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