I would like to think that everyone has seen the classic movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Here are my 7 Stages Of Realising You’re a Shopaholic.
1 – No I DON’T have too many shoes.
This is the most classic line of denial, for me anyway. I will continuously justify a new pair of shoes over any other item of clothing. No matter how similar it may be to another pair I will always need it. You will constantly be telling yourself that you need them, and whatever happens you will ALWAYS get them, no matter how long you wait to do it. You will wait until there’s a sale, either way, they will be yours at a stage.
2 – One more won’t hurt.
You will always say that one more won’t hurt you.. but really, do you need it? Even though your wardrobe wont close, or your shoe cupboard is bursting open, there will always be a valid reason for buying more. KLARNA, you think its your best friend at the time until you have £150 worth of clothes and shoes in your basket that you know you will never send back. Believe me, it’s a risky business, maybe because someone decided to use mine for a bigger shopping spree than I usually do..
3 – If I pretend I had this for a while nobody will know.
Ah, this is a clear sign yo’re a shopaholic. Hiding the bags in your car until there’s nobody home and sneaking them in and ripping the labels off without anyone seeing them. Or even getting parcels delivered to another address so you wont have to listen to your parents hitting you with the ‘Another parcel came for you today’ or ‘would you ever stop ordering online’. It can’t just be my parents who are like that!!
4 – It’s a present TO me FROM me.
This is a good way to justify buying things for yourself. Yes, everyone deserves a treat once and a while, but do they really deserve several treats in one week? (This is not a personal attack!!) I will always use ‘I’ve had a long day at work’ as an excuse to go ‘window shopping’ online **Spoiler – there is no such thing as window shopping online** This obviously results in me buying everything I like on every website I visit, and do I ever wear it all? No. But will I return it? Of course I won’t.
5 – Starting to wonder where your moneys going to.
The dreaded moment. You check your bank account. There is barely anything left and its only half way through first semester. You start to wonder was your account hacked and checking your bank statements your starting to realise, no, that was all you. The worst of it is, all the clothes and shoes are for going out and you will always wear the same thing during the day.
6 – I really should have returned those clothes I will never wear.
Everyone has that one chair in their room. Yes, I am talking about THE CHAIR!! Whether its piled with clean clothes, clothes you wore for a wee while that isn’t clean but definitely isn’t dirty enough for the wash or else it is parcels upon parcels that you will never ever wear, but will never return. I’ve said it once and ill say it again..KLARNA is not your friend. All them orders where you thought you wouldn’t like anything, and you didn’t, but ‘forgot’ to return, they still come out of your bank account. I know, shock!
7 – OK, I have too many shoes.
The Final Stage. You open the cupboard to put them new shoes in, the new coat, jeans or tops. It’s the end. There is literally no more room for anymore clothes in that wardrobe. You think to yourself, ‘I have far too much stuff, I should really clean out what I don’t wear.’ But, will you ever do that? Of course not. Do you keep buying more? Absolutely.
I’m sure many of you reading this can relate, but don’t worry. You are not alone.
Emma Murphy is a final year BSC in Communication Management and Public Relations student at Ulster University. She can be found at – Instagram: @emmamurf ; Facebook: Emma Murphy ; LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-murphy-bbb628196/