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Definition of “shopaholic”:
Deciding whether you are a shopaholic depends on your definition of the word. The term shopaholic used to mean someone who liked to shop, maybe a little too much. Now being a shopaholic may mean that you are a compulsive shopper who spends beyond your limits, buys things you have no use for, and uses shopping as a way to feel better temporarily.
Some believe that the compulsive shopper or shopaholic is actually suffering from an addiction. Addiction is defined as having a compulsion to a commit a behavior, being unable to stop a behavior, and continuing the behavior despite harmful consequences. Research now shows that addictive behavior often provides a momentary lift in mood. A flood of “good feeling” producing hormones rewards a shopaholic. Unfortunately the lift is not permanent, and the shopaholic must go out and shop more in order to find the next boost in hormones.
In a sense, when one is shopping, they are given a few moments of good mood. This is a momentary mental reward. So it encourages one to repeat the pattern in order to feel that “high” produced by shopping and purchasing.
Characteristics:
However, the shopaholic frequently begins to search for more and more “highs,” which translates to greater expense. Once the shopper begins to damage his or her own life by spending, or the compulsive shopping interferes with relationships, then true addiction exists, particularly if the person can’t stop shopping.
The shopaholic frequently spends beyond his or her means. This means they may sacrifice money for food, rent, utilities, or simply be unable to pay rising credit card balances. Once a shopaholic spends beyond limits, the disease, like an addiction to drugs can worsen. The shopaholic may indulge in compulsive theft, or may steal money from others in order to continue shopping.
What began as joy at finding a few good bargains can end in financial ruin, and even criminal prosecution. However, there is help to end such compulsions, which are just as likely to occur in men and women. Needing shopping, just like needing any other activity or drug to regulate mood suggests that mood is already in chemical imbalance.
Often restoring chemical balance, through medications like anti-depressants, can help curb some of the urge to shop. However, this is only one half of the equation. As a person becomes a shopaholic, he or she not only physically depends on the shopping for chemical balance, but also emotionally depends on the shopping.
Cures:
The same holds true for people addicted to substances like nicotine. Fighting the physical addiction is not the same as fighting the habitual behavior of smoking. In addition to possibly needing chemicals to help alter brain chemistry, a shopaholic needs to learn how to stop habitual shopping.
This can be especially difficult, since most of us need to shop from time to time. You cannot simply go “cold turkey” if you are a shopaholic. You will probably still need to occasionally shop for things like groceries, and this can lead to regression in fighting the addiction.
What does appear to help is support groups or individual counseling for controlling addictive behavior. Many organizations exist to help compulsive shoppers. As well, individual counseling can help one create strategies for taming the addiction. Group counseling can be particularly effective in keeping you from regressing back to shopping.
Just like any other addict, the shopaholic must want to quit. Very little can be accomplished until there is a sincere desire to end the behavior. For some this only occurs when they hit rock bottom. Hopefully, recognizing the signs early can help one curb the behavior in its infancy, so it does not become an addictive behavior that controls one’s life.
Extracted from http://www.wisegeek.com/am-i-a-shopaholic.htm
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Questions for Session I:
1. Have you ever seen “Confessions of a Shopaholic” ? If yes, tell us what you think or learn from this movie. If no, tell us what flashes into your mind at the first sight of the movie title.
2. Do you think that women love shopping more than men?
3. When it comes to friendship, are you afraid of getting along with such kind of men or women who are crazy about shopping? In terms of marriage, are you worried that your lifetime partner would be a shopaholic?
Questions for Session II:
1. Have you ever bought anything at a price below its actual value? That’s to say, you get a good bargain! Please tell us or show us some of your “booties” if you can take them to the meeting.
2. Did you have the experience that you have the obsession with something you saw but you didn’t buy at that moment, but…you finally rushed to buy it because you couldn’t keep that stuff off mind after then?
3. Can you offer any ways to help a shopaholic solve her or his problems of shopping addiction in addition to those as described in the article above?
6:45 ~ 7:00pm Greetings and free talk among members and guests /taking individual orders/getting newcomers' information
7:00 ~ 7:10pm Opening remarks/ Newcomers self-introduction/ Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:50pm discussion session (40 mins)
7:50 ~ 8:10pm summarization (20 mins)
8:10 ~ 8:15pm Regrouping & instruction giving
(Session II)
8:15 ~ 8:25pm Taking a 10 minutes break (Intermission)
8:25 ~ 9:05pm discussion session (40 mins)
9:05 ~9:25pm summarization (20 mins)
9:25 ~ 9:30pm Concluding remarks/feedback from newcomers/ announcements ********************************************************************************************************************************************
聚會日期：列於該貼文主題內 聚會時間：請準時 6:45 pm 到 ~ 約 9:30 pm 左右結束
聚會地點：丹堤復興長春店 台北市復興北路183號 地圖 (02)8712-9581
捷運南京東路站（木柵線）
走法：出捷運南京東路站後，順著復興北路往北走約3分鐘，過了長春路與復興北路交叉口之後即可看到。
最低消費：50元
注意事項：
1. 文章是否需要列印請自行斟酌，但與會者請務必自行列印 Questions for discussion。
2. 與會者請先閱讀過文章，並仔細想過所有的問題，謝謝合作！
3. 點餐時，請記得跟店員說，你是來參加 YOYO 聚會的，可以享有小杯飲料自動升級為大杯之權益！
給新朋友的話：
1. 請事先準備2~3分鐘的英語自我介紹；會議結束前可能會請你發表1~2分鐘的感想。
2. 請事先閱讀文章以及主持人所提的討論問題，並事先寫下自己所欲發表意見的英文。
3. 全程以英語進行，參加者應具備中等英語會話能力，對任一討論問題，能夠以5到10句英文表達個人見解。
4. 在正式加入之前，可以先來觀摩三次，觀摩者亦須參與討論。正式加入需繳交可退還之保證金NT$1,000。
5. 想要參與會議的新朋友，請先跟會長 Toshi 報名，謝謝！
