Fill in the Blanks ShopaholicOnline version Filling in by Carmina Nascimento 1 Confessions of a former I think it started when I was in my mid - twenties , after my mother ? s untimely death . The became a comfortable place for me . It reminded me of my mother , because I had gone shopping with her since I was a . I also found I could displace my depression and transfer it to the product . I could get excited about seeing something , think it would make me or change my life , so I ? d it . If a situation was difficult for me emotionally - say , I was having a bad day or work wasn ? t going well or I was feeling , I would end up running to a store . I ? d go into shops and fall into a trance ? into this kind of heightened shopping experience . When I felt empty inside , shopping was a temporary way to feel full again . It was extremely difficult to come to terms with the fact that my shopping was basically a means of running away from something I had to face . I had to get at this from the root . One of the first things I did was acknowledge the connection between my shopping addiction and my grief over my mother ? s death . I went to a credit - counselling program and eventually cleared up all my card debt . wasn ? t easy . When I wanted to go shopping , I ? d try to occupy my mind and my body in other ways . I would go outside and take long walks . The outdoors is a much healthier place for me than the . Being more " present " in the shopping environment took a lot of practice , patience , and time , but eventually I managed . I can say honestly in the last ten years I don ? t have a shopping problem . I ? ve reclaimed my power over shopping and my - .
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