Shopping Addiction: A Serious Problem
There are fifteen days left before Christmas, and the forecast is for two weeks of non-stop buying. Most shoppers will know when to stop, but as CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller found, others need help.
"It took a long time for any of us to realize that it was a serious problem, it was an addiction, it was something that I no longer had control of," said Gagner.
She's not talking about cocaine, or heroine or alcohol. She is talking about shopping.
"To me I guess it was like taking a drink, it just calmed me down, it soothed me and I felt ok," she said.
Gagner says she used to enjoy shopping, but for the last six years, it's become a compulsion. She's packed her closets and even her attic with the results of hundreds of trips to the mall, to the tune of $200,000.
"I went into a clothing store I'd never been to before, decided I was going to buy one piece, walked out with six. Cost me almost a thousand dollars," she said.
Her habit has jeopardized her financial future, and her relationship with her husband.
"We have emptied out IRAs, stock options, 401ks, all gone, due to my shopping," she said.
While many of us are able to call shopping "retail therapy," for some 13 million American adults, shopping can become an addiction that requires therapy.
"It's still considered the smiled upon addiction, despite the fact that there are suicides that have been linked to this," said psychologist April Benson.
Compulsive shopping is not a recognized medical disorder, but many mental health professionals, like Benson, believe it should be.
"It's sometimes a source of greater shame and denial than alcoholism or drug addiction because those are thought of as 'real diseases,'" said Benson.
As a result, there are very few programs designed to help compulsive shoppers. Gagner finally found one after she went on a shopping "bender" this fall.
"In a matter of a couple of hours, I had spent probably close to $5,000 or $6,000, easy," she said.
Gagner just spent 30 days at a residential center at Wekiva Springs, Fla., dealing with her addiction. One exercise involved learning to shop responsibly.
Back at home, gagner will not be allowed to have a credit card, a checking account, or even a computer. And she can only enter stores after making very specific lists, and with her husband at her side.
"I'll never forget what I did. But I've started to forgive myself for what I have done," says Gagner.
And deal with her addiction one day at a time.
Some Web sites offering help for compulsive shoppers are: