Shopping Addict Duff Comes Clean

It may be no biggie when the rich and famous call themselves “shopping addicts,” as Hilary Duff “jokingly” claims in this month’s issue of the shopping magazine Lucky (reported by MTV),

Shopping addiction destructive for many

but what happens when the silliness of Duff’s apparently controlled addiction turns into something much more detrimental, something like Michael Jackson’s? He never learned to address his shopping habits (and apparent addiction), leaving him indefinitely in debt and struggling. Or worse, what happens when you’re not a celebrity at all, and that itching to spend a little burns more than just a mere hole in your pocket?

Addictions aren’t just for substances. Since it is a brain disease, someone prone to addiction can latch onto plenty of different venues of compulsion. As such, problems like compulsive shopping can be overlooked, seen as any number of less problematic things than what it truly is.

We don’t hear a whole lot about shopping addiction. The media primarily focuses on the biggies of drugs and alcohol, occasionally venturing deeper into things like gambling or sex addiction according to whichever celeb has openly become afflicted. I recall a couple years back to one of MTV’s “True Life” specials (click here to watch) that did highlight the problems of shopping addiction (very well, I might add) and I think programs like that could really do a lot to open up this problem to a wider audience. Shows like this help people unknowingly slipping down that path receive help, initiate intervention and begin regaining control over both finances and life.

Tags: addiction, addiction intervention, brain disease, hilary duff, shopping addiction