How to tell if you're an online shopaholic

Cyber Monday is fast approaching. It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving when e-tailers open their virtual doors and offer can’t-pass-up bargains to their online customers. It’s a joy ride for savvy e-consumers. It’s a potential car wreck for folks with compulsive buying disorder.

Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) also is known as shopaholism, or shopping addiction. It’s characterized by compulsive bouts of shopping that negatively impact the buyer’s life. Research reported in the Oct. 1, 2006, American Journal of Psychiatry estimated that compulsive buying affects more than 1 in 20 Americans.

People overshop for a bagful of reasons. They may feel anxious. They’re experiencing loss or emptiness. They may suffer from emotional deprivation stemming from childhood abuse or neglect. Some people seek relief from boredom. Others struggle with the need to be perfect.

According to New York psychologist April Lane Benson, author of “To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop It,” the Internet is a fertile breeding ground for overshoppers because “they are so removed from the pain of paying.” In an Oct. 1 radio interview on “Real Money,” she explained the dangers of online shopping:

Shoppers can make purchases without being observed.

Shoppers can buy frequently and quickly.

Shoppers have an unlimited array of products at their fingertips.

Prices are often lower online than in brick-and-mortar stores.

E-tailers entice shoppers with ads for new or similar products or free shipping if they spend more money.

Compulsive buying was once assumed to be a predominately female activity. Research now shows that men and women overbuy at equal rates. Digital marketing agency iProspect reports that 70 percent of affluent men prefer to do their shopping research and purchasing online. Forty percent of them shop online two or more times a week and spend more than $30,000 annually.

Excessive shopping is closely linked to substance abuse, Dr. Benson said. Shopaholics are most likely to start shopping when they’re depressed and get an emotional rush at the moment they hit “Buy.” Because gratification isn’t instantaneous — packages don’t arrive for a few days — they feel the need to continue shopping in order to maintain the buzz.

Are you an online shopaholic?

Do you routinely check your favorite shopping sites for the latest bargains?

Do you receive more promotional emails than real emails?

Do you get excited when you receive notification of an online sale?

Do you secretly shop online at work?

Do you receive packages you forgot you ordered?

Are you on a first-name basis with clerks at the post office?

Have you missed work to receive or sign for packages?

Is your recycling bin overflowing with cardboard shipping boxes?

Do you have an excessive number of shopping apps on your phone or tablet?

Have you accidently purchased the same item two or three times?

Treatment for online overspending:

Identify triggers. Uncover and acknowledge the emotions that get you in trouble.

Do what you can to prevent access from vendors. Unsubscribe from e-tail websites and blogs. Change the filters on your Web browser.

Set a time limit for using the Internet. When time is up, turn off the computer.

Cut up your credit cards. Pay cash for all your purchases.

Ask important questions. Before making any purchase, ask yourself, “Why am I here? How do I feel? Do I need this? What if I wait? How will I pay for it? Where will I put it?”

Consider joining a support group, such as Spenders Anonymous.

For more information, go to http://www.shopaholicnomore.com

This story was originally published November 25, 2014 at 5:00 AM with the headline "How to tell if you're an online shopaholic."