Spending Money as Stress Relief?
A friend of mine recently shared that she loves some “retail therapy” after a hard week. She asked if there’s any science behind spending as a stress management strategy. I, of course, was happy to share way too many thoughts on the subject!
For some, shopping can feel stressful. There are a lot of decisions to make and you get swayed by marketers to purchase things. I’ve written about the stress of holiday shopping in particular. But some people really enjoy shopping as a hobby. They find it enjoyable and even stress-relieving!
There are a number of reasons that shopping can feel great. Most of us have nostalgic memories of shopping with loved ones. We often enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the stores and items. And for someone shopping as a hobby, it can be a pastime where they enjoyably disengage from routines, distanced from stressors in the home or workplace.
A few years ago I was interviewed for a Gizmodo article on Why Does Spending Money Feel So Good? Here’s part of my response for that article:
The motivation and reward centers of our brain (such as the ventral tegmental area) are tightly connected. When we want something, these brain regions become heavily activated, secreting dopamine (a neurotransmitter), causing that “gotta have it” feeling. In order to settle that down, or scratch that itch, we need to seek satisfaction (regulated in part by nearby brain regions and the neurotransmitter serotonin). Those motivation and reward centers of our brain are linked to our memory banks, reminding us that buying things will trigger that satisfaction and help us feel good. So, no matter what the reason for the wanting (maybe we’re anxious or sad or have a fear of missing out on the latest iPhone), our brains remind us that buying things will make us feel better. From here we can see the slippery slope—we begin to spend money whenever anything is stressful, a strategy that has obvious long-term financial risks.
Much like using television as a stress relief tool, which I wrote about recently, shopping can cause as much stress as it relieves. It doesn’t make it a bad tool, but it should be only one of many coping mechanisms that you can use for stress.
The key is to put together a whole stress management toolkit. One form of stress relief may help, but cause other challenges, as we’ve talked about with the tv example. A diverse toolkit that includes a wide variety of active coping strategies can help you regularly manage stress. And a good approach to time management will help make sure you have enough time for all of the important things in your life, from your favorite shows to your favorite people. Reach out for help developing your stress management toolkit! Catherine@FranssenStrategies.com.
