What Happens When We Use Shopping To Cover Our Grief?

For many people, shopping is a way to distract themselves or to entertain themselves. This has not always been the case. Shopping used to be about getting supplies, it was a necessity and a matter of routine. Nowadays, going to the mall is a way for people to relax and clear their brains. It can even be a curative treatment or “therapy”.

This is because of our consumer society. It was not what people liked that created this desire to go shopping. It was actually the other way around. The new forms of market and economy created new preferences in how people spent their free time. Of course, advertising plays a big role in this habit, because it makes the unnecessary things seem necessary.

A supermarket used to be so that customers could find what they were looking for and that was it. Now they have become great architectural giants, with a wide range of comforts and ways to have fun. They are almost like an entertainment center and have become a social meeting place.

Going shopping – is it good or bad?

It is a fact that we are part of a consumer society and that in one way or another we all play a role in keeping that dynamic alive. It is also a fact that no matter how stingy you are, shopping will give you satisfaction. Beyond the need you achieve by buying something, buying things gives you a sense of power and abundance that is hard to get from other activities.

There are various studies that prove that the brain has the benefits of going shopping. This was observed in a research done at Brunel University in London. Seeing something you like would have it, and then buying it activates certain parts of the brain that trigger dopamine. Your mood will improve and you will feel happier. It has been scientifically proven.

But the brain also responds in this way to other types of stimuli. Your mood will also improve when you exercise or other type of satisfying activity  such as dancing or sewing. The same thing happens when someone gives us a flirtatious compliment that you think is sincere, or when you are properly immersed in a book. But the market has begun to stereotype our satisfaction and is constantly pointing in the direction of the mall. That’s what the market wants.

There is really nothing wrong with going shopping. It can be incredibly positive if you do it consciously and responsibly. The problems come when you start going to the mall all the time to avoid feeling the discomfort you do not know how to process in another way. This is when shopping will not help improve your mood. Instead, it will help cover up the problem or even create a new one.

You might think that this discomfort will go away when you look through shop windows, walk in and out of the rehearsal rooms, or when you see yourself in the new clothes when you pay. But… do you feel better or worse after the short, critical moments are over?

To go shopping to process discomfort

It has become common to hear many people say that they go shopping because they are depressed and want to improve their mood. Or do they say that shopping is their therapy to “forget” their problems. The mall has become a place to work through pain and to soothe a broken heart. Buying things helps us to forget that we have limitations and problems, and that we are not here forever.

In these conditions  , it is no wonder that people focus their free time on going to the mall or other stores. It is also common for them to feel deep frustration when dr does not get there. Or when they work hard to earn enough money to “live in style”.

Credit card

The perfect companions for this type of lifestyle are credit cards. A while ago, they were only for business people or high-income people. Now it is incredibly easy to get a credit card. They get rid of all the barriers when it comes to shopping. This is because you do not see the money you spend when you shop. You end up with debt and happy to just move on with life.

But… your life gets worse in many different ways without you noticing it. Much of your income will end up paying off all of your credit card debt. And then your world will become one-dimensional.

You will stop finding satisfaction in the free activities that do not involve any form of transfer. You did not do it on purpose, but you gave all the control to the marketing experts. In the end, it is you who has to pay. For what you bought. For what you stopped experiencing. And for the consequences of the conflict you could not resolve and which you tried to hide. And you did it only to spend money on things you did not need.