sassysage's Blog

i was out with a friend yesterday and she was stressed out about getting shopping done in time for Christmas.

that feeling is a distant memory for me because my family decided years ago to skip giving gifts for the holidays.

this time of year is exciting for many people because it’s a sanctioned excuse to go shopping.   and who doesn’t love buying new things…

but some people LOVE shopping to a fault.  some people can’t stop shopping even if it’s causing them to lose their credit, homes and friendships.  shopping addiction is one of those things that is really hard to catch.  it doesn’t look that harmless but for some it’s the symptom of pain.

take marceia, a young new yorker who was featured on Oxygen’s new show My Shopping Addiction (airs Mondays 11pm est).  marceia shops so much she is on the verge of getting evicted.  shout out to my friend and colleague psychologist ramani durvasula who is on the show and digs deeper to find out marceia was bullied as a teen.  the constant teasing she received as a girl got so bad, marceia decided to create a whole new persona as the ‘it’ girl. she got all new clothes and the bullying stopped. she has been shopping non-stop since.

thanks to dr.  ramani, marceia was able to realize that beauty is skin deep.  

watch a sneak peak of marceia finally recognizing her true self-worth.

http://features.oxygen.com/videos/My%20Shopping%20Addiction/Season%201/Bonus/vid:2607272

marceia represents so many girls and young women out there, who feel that they are only worth the clothes on their back and the make up on their faces.  looking nice is good but it never replaces feeling that you are special just because of the person you are.   below is one of my favorite quotes. every time i get the urge to make a rash purchase, i repeat it and my shopping itch goes away.