This is for all of the self-proclaimed shopaholics out there. I understand that when you tell people you’re addicted to shopping and people respond with “that’s not a real thing,” it can be so frustrating! Here’s a voucher for all of you shopping crazed people and a delve into our pre-, mid- and post-shopping thought processes for those that are calling BS on this.

I’ve never gone shopping and been 100 percent satisfied for more than 24 hours. This is how you know that you suffer from Obsessive Compulsive (Shopping) Disorder, or OCsD. Shopping is a form of therapy. When life gets stressful, there’s always an online store or mall sales associate that welcomes you with open arms! This is also my kryptonite.

The obsession part comes in when one becomes happy after purchasing something and quickly reverts to being unsatisfied. What do we do is this scenario? Hit the stores once again!

It’s a whole different ball game when it come to online shopping. The instant gratification is not there, because there’s a waiting game between purchase and receiving your new item. Also, there is no physical object that you can look at to remind you to not spend any more money because you just bought that other item yesterday. Without this reminder, it’s easy to go online and buy something every day for an entire week, especially if it means receiving gifts that you bought for yourself every day of the next week!

Honestly, it’s all fun and games until the credit card bill rolls in and your debit card has been emptied out. But one of the better side effects of OCsD is that guilt is very temporary. You’ll only feel bad for a few hours and convince yourself that everything you got was so worth it, thus, the cycle continues.

The word ‘sale’ might as well mean free because we validate the fact that we’re spending less money anyway, so we can buy more! It’s such a great feeling to hang up brand new clothes in your closet. Thoughts like "I could wear this to with these pants" and "that skirt with those heels are all natural, though" occurr as we scan our newly graced closets. Let me reiterate that the idea of spending validation is a huge part of having OCsD. Any reason we can find to further convince ourselves that a particular buy was the right move, no matter how small, is all we need to feel content.

It’s not only about having buying things in the end. As we continue to put more items in our closets and expand our wardrobes, it’s almost like putting together an art masterpiece. As you add new items in and occasionally edit out pieces that you no longer want, it is in some ways a portrayal of your personality. The way we dress can tell a lot about a person. This may be the reason that those who can identify with OCsD are always looking for something new! We want to dress to impress not only others, but also be able to look in the mirror and say “best dressed in my book, and that’s all that matters!”