I’ve always loved shopping especially after a long week of studying. I enjoy taking a break and rewarding myself with new clothes. I’ve heard that shopping can serve as a form of stress-relief. I can understand why. It is a time when a person can stop thinking and spend several hours relaxing at the mall. At least, that is how I view it. I’ve become curious as to whether or not retail therapy is actually beneficial or if it provides more anxiety than anything else. A person must analyze all of the products that he or she could potentially purchase and spend excessive amounts of money in the process. Psychology Today claims that when they asked 100 male and female individuals their initial thoughts on retail therapy they were more likely to get negative responses. It seems that it is commonplace to regard retail therapy as being utter nonsense and not beneficial. Researchers are trying to prove otherwise.

Recent studies support that shopping can increase overall happiness in the majority of people. A paper was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology by professors from the University of Michigan stating that it has the potential to reduce sadness. They believe that sadness is a result of not having control in the outcomes of a person’s life. By shopping, he or she regains that sense of control thus restoring happiness. The study that found these results divided individuals into two groups: choosers and browsers. Both groups were presented with 12 products. The choosers felt more in control and therefore three times less sad. Those involved in such studies believe that shopping has long-lasting positive effects on a person’s mood and that rewarding oneself is strategically motivating. However, not everyone is sad due to their lack of control. There are many other factors that can determine the mood that they are in. Therefore, shopping would not be able to help all people facing sadness.

Shopping can be considered a stressor for many people. Those who are materialistic especially want the best of everything and lots of it. A report from 2011 found that these materialistic people are often less satisfied and unhappy. They often cannot find the exact, perfect product. Also, the numerous amounts of items in malls can cause a person anxiety. They do not know what to purchase and become overwhelmed. The idea of spending money is also stressful. Once all purchases have been made, people often become stressed over how much they paid. In regards to the concept of fight versus flight, those who shop to relieve stress are ultimately running from the problem at hand. They may be content at the time of shopping, but they are not resolving the stress. It catches up to them later on, and they become even more sad as a result.

To conclude, retail shopping is never the answer. There is always a reason for stress, and it must be dealt with to be entirely happy. One cannot always revert to the flight option. Also, shopping cannot help all of those who are sad because not all people need the control to feel better. However, shopping in moderation can help take one’s mind off of whatever difficult situation he or she is dealing with and offer a sense of empowerment. We can all reward ourselves every once in awhile but not excessively.