I Shop Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self

I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Shopping & the Search for Self, edited by Dr. Benson, was written by researchers and clinicians for researchers and clinicians. That can be a fascinating perspective for laypeople, or extremely difficult to follow, and perhaps with no “in between.” A reader with an academic orientation might find it valuable. Anyone might find that Part VII: Treatment Adjuncts, which discusses Debtors Anonymous and Financial Recovery Counseling, is an excellent introduction to additional tools beyond psychotherapy. Lauren Williams, Owner, Casual Uncluttering LLC, Woodinville, WA USA

This book is packed with more clinical information than any self help book. Not that it doesn't have a fair amount of personal stories to tell. The price is high but it is apparent that it is because of the research that went into the writing. If you really wish to use your brain to get a handle on shopping problems of any level ...read this book and think about its contents.............

Book had dust mites. I broke out on arms. Threw in trash.

This book is very helpful to individuals dealing with compulsive shopping and shopping addiction.

This is not a self-help book and is directed at mental health professionals rather than the general public or sufferers from oniomania. There is a certain psychoanalytic bias, and nothing about neuro-imaging. I was surprised at first to see so little mention of the classical association, mentioned by Kraepelin, between outbursts of excessive spending and mania (maniacal excitement as Kraepelin called it) but the book convinced me that this only represents a small fraction of excessive spending, which is a widespread problem. It is multi-authored and heavily referenced. It is not a book you can sit and read through (at least I couldn't) rather, as April Lane Benson recommends "shop this book as you would a store, feeling free to pick and choose, return or exchange. Gather information on anything you wish." Following her advice I found it informative and useful.

This book arrived almost two weeks early and in excellent condition.

Love the book. It does a perfect job describing my financial habits lol

I Shop, Therefore I Am is a Shopping Bag filled with a veritable cornucopia of well-made and carefully placed articles. Exploring the contents of this book-bag takes the reader into its deepest depths, as if into the "fabric" of the bag itself wherein lies the previously taboo realm of compulsive buying, spending, and shopping. For this reason alone the book is singularly important and a "must read" for interested persons from a wide range of perspectives. I Shop, Therefore I Am is at once thought provoking and behavior challenging. Being part introduction, part overview, and part anthology, the book nonetheless unpacks its material with purposeful movement and in clear and readable language. Indeed, the more one reads, the more one wants to read! Each chapter contains compelling insights, all of which are brilliantly woven together into a single piece in editor April Lane Benson's own concluding essay. Nuances of definition are revealed as writers from behavioral, biological, psychological, social and spiritual disciplines present their understandings of the scope and nature of problems related to money-use, as well as assessment and treatment options. But Benson does not leave us consumed by the bag! Quite the contrary-in noting that the exchange of money for goods and services can be done as "conscious shopping" she suggests that shopping can be about the "process of search...about being" rather than having or buying. She thus leaves the reader searching for the next book-bag(s?) of goodies, in which one might hope to find essays attending to issues of culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status and downward mobility in relation to "shopping gone bad", as well as a fuller exposition of the reparative use of shopping, or "shopping gone good." When all is said and done, however, I guarantee - after reading this book you will never shop the same way again!

This was another book I bought to help me with me MA dissertation, on compulsive buying behaviour. It is fascinating and well worth purchasing if you study psychology or marketing. Thank you!