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How Curbing My Shopping Habit Taught Me to Take Care of Myself

The following is a guest post from Christine Li, Ph.D., whose story of finding lost time by looking in her closet is part of my “Stories of Recovery” series. Christine is a clinical psychologist who specializes in helping her clients recover from chronic procrastination and anxiety.  She started her blog, Procrastination Coach, in 2013.

If you would like to be profiled in the “Stories of Recovery” series (you can be anonymous if desired), or if you have an idea for another type of guest post on “Recovering Shopaholic,” please connect with me to share your thoughts.

Take time for yourself

How else might you spend your time if you weren’t shopping?

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On Relapse, Reasons, and Recommitting

Recovery from any addiction or compulsion seldom occurs in a linear fashion.  While there are those rare few who simply decide to change and find it smooth sailing from there on forth, the majority of us experience both hills and valleys.  Sometimes we take three steps forward and one step back, and other times it feels like we’re moving backwards instead of progressing.

As a new month has begun, it’s time for me to post my next accountability update.  While I usually experience a few butterflies in my stomach when typing up my monthly reports, this time I feel a sense of downright dread.  I have to admit to both my readers and myself that I have hit a bump in the road.   After a number of months of fairly steady recovery – with some minor setbacks along the way – I’ve plunged back into some old and unproductive behaviors.

Shopaholic relapse

Have you ever experienced a relapse in your shopaholic behavior?

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July 2014 “Grab Bag” of Useful Links

As longtime readers of “Recovering Shopaholic” may recall, I used to publish useful links lists on specific topics every Friday (you can see the resources archive here), and I also include links at the end of some standard posts.  Although I’ll probably still do these things on occasion, I’ve decided to consolidate most of my helpful links into a monthly post.

Useful links from around the world

Sharing resources and tips from around the world!

Included below is the July 2014 edition.  This list features articles on the standard “Recovering Shopaholic” topics of shopping, wardrobe management, and style, as well as a few others I think you might enjoy on alternate subjects.  I hope you enjoy this month’s assortment of links.  Please feel free to share any thoughts you have on these articles in the comments section. You’re also welcome to include any other links you feel may interest your fellow readers. Continue reading →

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The Folly of it All!

About a month ago, I went to the mall in search of a few of the items on my shopping priorities list.  Since I was looking for very specific things, I probably walked into and out of close to half of the stores in the mall.  During the process, I observed many other shoppers and later jotted down a few notes to potentially explore in a future post.  When I shopped again this past weekend, I was reminded of my impressions from the June excursion.

In today’s post, I write from the perspective of a recovering shopaholic who has emerged enough from my compulsion to see it in a different light.  While it’s true that I am not yet completely recovered (that may take a while…), I am sometimes able to view the folly that shopping can be with the wise eyes of an outside observer.  It is my hope that my observations will be helpful to you and will provoke both deep thoughts, as well as lively discussion for those who wish to chime in!

Tired shopper with lots of bags

Do you shop til you drop but not have much to show for it?

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Confession: I Shopped the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale this Year

Exactly a year ago today, I wrote a post titled “Why I’m Skipping the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.”  This has become one of the most popular posts on my blog, probably because so many people search for the term “Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.”  In a nutshell, the post outlines the five reasons why I decided to sit out what had been my favorite sale for many years.  My decision to avoid that “holy grail” of sales was a big turning point in my recovery process, although I’ve clearly experienced a number of ups and downs since that time.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

So I shopped the sale this year…. (image: Nordstrom.com)

Fast forward a year…  I have a confession to make.  This year, I did shop the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, or NAS for short.  While that may seem like a bit of a “backslide,” so to speak, it’s not necessarily that black and white.  In today’s post, I outline why I shopped the NAS this year, what was different about how I approached it this time around, and what I still need to learn and improve before I revisit this sale next time. Continue reading →