subject: Does Spending On Retail Therapy Really Help Us? [print this page] Retail therapy is a guaranteed way to make you feel happier, whatever problem. Or that's at least what the media seem to want you to believe. As nice a thought as that may be, the question remains; does retail therapy really make us happier?
A recent example of the newspapers highlighting this apparent retail therapy habit, is that of Colleen Rooney, who, just days after her footballer player husband was accused in the media of sleeping with prostitutes, was photographed out shopping. Of course, she might well have been planning a shopping trip anyway, but the media picked up on this as "Colleen's Retail Therapy."
But the limited science that does exist around this topic would actually tell us, contrary to the media perception, that retail therapy could actually add to your blues. A study carried out in 2001 concluded that people who were depressed, were twice as likely to regret a purchase than those who are not. Psychologists have also stated that retail therapy is a "short buzz," solution that often comes accompanied with regret.
Conversely, there is more than enough evidence to the notion that when we feel good about the way we look, we feel good about ourselves - which makes fashion the proverbial spanner in the works of this particular argument. Given that so many people place a great deal of importance in how they look and what they are wearing, a healthy interest in fashion could therefore make you feel good about yourself (or not, depending whether you obsess about the way fashion models look, but that's a whole other argument).
The old adage calls for all things in moderation, and for very good reason. Overdose on retail therapy and it could add to your worries, in the form of hefty credit card bills - or just worrying about making the repayments. If you shop within your budget however, you could end up feeling rather good. Putting impulse purchases in the name of retail therapy on your credit card, whatever the media tells you, is very unlikely to banish those blues!
