Associated Press

In “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” a 20-something glam girl has a serious problem: She can’t stop shopping and her credit card debt is mounting.

The movie, which opened Friday, is lighthearted, but for real compulsive shoppers it’s nothing to laugh about. While much of America is spending less because of the recession, for shopaholics, the deals have become too good to resist.

“I’m having a hard time controlling myself,” said Rebecca Gart, 39, of Denver, a stay-at-home mother of three, who goes shopping a couple of times a week.

Even for those who have less money in their pockets, sales can prove tempting. As economic stress mounts, they seek retail therapy and spend more.

“I know that business is bad for everyone and that I should be calming down,” said Gart. “It’s just hard when you have all these amazing bargains everywhere.”

Mental health professionals say bargains make it hard for true shopping addicts to change their spending habits.

While shoppers in general triumph from finding deals, evidence suggests that the feeling is magnified among compulsive shoppers, said Dr. Donald Black, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. And because many spend more when they are under stress, including financial stress, they are having a tough time resisting all the sales, said Terrence Shulman, founder of The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft and Spending in Franklin, Mich.

Even those who aren’t shopaholics are being lured into overspending because of great deals, said Shulman.

Albert Ko, 24, of Boston, who runs CheapCheapCheap.com, said he has been buying televisions, laptops, clothes and MP3 players. He’s been charging them on his credit card and then using savings to pay the cards off. “When you see something that is such a crazy bargain, it’s hard not to want it,” he said. Continued...

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Lauren Leach, 42, a compulsive shopper in Columbia, S.C., racked up $20,000 in credit card debt buying clothes, shoes and makeup for herself and presents for her parents.

“It’s my fix,” she said. “I’m not a drinker. I don’t care anything about alcohol. I love to shop. I love getting new things. When that newness wears off, you want something else.”

Ko worries he will regret not taking advantage of the deals. When he sees the price drop on items, he thinks, “I should definitely get this before someone else snatches it up.” But when he thinks about it, he wishes he could stop. His savings account is dwindling and he’s spending more than his paycheck.

Worsening economic conditions are not enough to get shopaholics to kick their addiction, said Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“If an alcoholic was faced with a lack of funds, would he be able to curb his addiction?” asked Lieberman. “The answer is no.”

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