Hi Nir! I’ve never heard of these books but I’m definitely going to look into them. Thank you for doing this AMA.
I studied psychology and human development for my undergrad and consider myself a lifelong student on these subjects.
I realized a few years ago that I had a shopping problem. I had left a toxic workplace and was in between jobs. I was in a new city. Stress was definitely a main factor in my compulsive shopping. I felt compelled to always be on the hunt for something. I ended up with stuff I liked but at the end of a few months, a lot of it was clutter. I read Marie Kondo’s book and decluttered so much. Forcing myself to hold each item and really think about what it means to me yanked me out of my compulsive shopping habits. I no longer see the thrill in shopping “for fun”. Going through her method made me realize that in times of stress, I was trying to replicate a ritual I had growing up when shopping with my mom. It was the way to her heart, I guess you could say. She loved finding “a good deal”. On some level, I thought I’d feel comforted. Of course, I never did and all that I ended up doing was increase my credit card bills and fill my home with unnecessary things.
In a case like this, what kinds of psychological things do you think are at work? Can you share a similar type of situation that you’ve come across in your research?
anotherkindofbiscuit4 karma
Hi Nir! I’ve never heard of these books but I’m definitely going to look into them. Thank you for doing this AMA.
I studied psychology and human development for my undergrad and consider myself a lifelong student on these subjects.
I realized a few years ago that I had a shopping problem. I had left a toxic workplace and was in between jobs. I was in a new city. Stress was definitely a main factor in my compulsive shopping. I felt compelled to always be on the hunt for something. I ended up with stuff I liked but at the end of a few months, a lot of it was clutter. I read Marie Kondo’s book and decluttered so much. Forcing myself to hold each item and really think about what it means to me yanked me out of my compulsive shopping habits. I no longer see the thrill in shopping “for fun”. Going through her method made me realize that in times of stress, I was trying to replicate a ritual I had growing up when shopping with my mom. It was the way to her heart, I guess you could say. She loved finding “a good deal”. On some level, I thought I’d feel comforted. Of course, I never did and all that I ended up doing was increase my credit card bills and fill my home with unnecessary things.
In a case like this, what kinds of psychological things do you think are at work? Can you share a similar type of situation that you’ve come across in your research?
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