This is the second guest post in this series by April Lane Benson.

April Lane Benson, PhD., is a nationally known psychologist who specializes in the treatment of compulsive buying disorder. She has been in private practice in New York City for over 30 years. Dr. Benson is the founder of Stopping Overshopping, LLC (linked to website), and creator of Stopping Overshopping, a comprehensive program to help eliminate compulsive buying. She is the editor of I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self (linked to page on website about book). Her newest book To Buy Or Not To Buy?: Why We Overshop and How to Stop, is scheduled for publication at the end of 2008.
www.stopingovershopping.com

By now we all know that a transaction need not occur within the walls of a store for it to be titled “shopping. ” And no matter how clearly you know what you’re shopping for, there are always pressures to overshop. Shopping—at a mall, on the Internet, or even from a catalog—is almost guaranteed to stir up feelings and impulses. Mindful shopping can help in all of these cases.

This is a guest post by April Lane Benson.

April Lane Benson, PhD., is a nationally known psychologist who specializes in the treatment of compulsive buying disorder. She has been in private practice in New York City for over 30 years. Dr. Benson is the founder of Stopping Overshopping, LLC (linked to website), and creator of Stopping Overshopping, a comprehensive program to help eliminate compulsive buying. She is the editor of I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self (linked to page on website about book). Her newest book To Buy Or Not To Buy?: Why We Overshop and How to Stop, is scheduled for publication at the end of 2008.
www.stoppingovershopping.com

 To Buy or Not To Buy— it’s a question we ask and answer almost every day, if not multiple times a day. For many people, this question is one that doesn’t cause much inner turmoil. But for compulsive buyers, it’s a high stakes question, and an affirmative answer can be devastating.