Thursday, March 22, 2012

Voila... Retail Therapy!


Stress is the talk-of-the-town and what better stress-buster than shopping. Na na na… don’t get me wrong… I’m not jumping to any conclusions but merely stating something that has been substantiated completely by research scientists who I’m sure are not shopaholics! On the contrary, they may be dedicated husbands to women who are shopping maniacs (aesthetically termed as ‘compulsive shoppers’) to an extent that they have got their husbands’ credit cards blocked due to non-payment of charges that are well beyond the assigned credit limit. So what makes shopping a mood-lifter after all?

The simplest explanation would be that when we are feeling low, we need to experience ‘something’ that lifts our mood. It may be chocolates or sweets for some, a nice game for others and shopping for most of the fairer sex. Shopping is likened to ‘rewarding oneself’ and who does not feel better when rewarded?? It triggers women out of their gloomy state and launches them straight into the air-conditioned, sweet-smelling interiors of a big store in the nearest shopping mall. At the end of all the My-God-I-bought-so-many-things experience, a wonderful mood emerges that lasts quite a while :)

I don’t think I should even wander into areas that touch the point about the credit card bills that are awaiting you in the coming month… didn’t I say I was discussing only stress-busters today??