Dear Michelle,

You've already taken the first step toward stopping by admitting that you need help. Shopping because you feel upset or that you can't control your life is not unusual. It's a way that we often try to anesthetize ourselves so we don't feel pain. Unfortunately, as you know, it's only a short-lived solution and then on top of the overspending you've got all the negative feelings that resulted from your overspending to deal with too. You mention disgust with yourself and hating yourself. It's extremely important that you give yourself the gift of having a compassionate attitude toward yourself and strive to understand, rather than judge yourself. You wouldn't be doing this if you didn't have a good reason. The solution is to understand what it is you're really shopping for and find ways to meet those needs that will enhance your life. For example, if you're shopping to feel relief from upset, there are other ways to handle upset that would better meet that need for relief. It's a matter of really thinking through how else you could handle this and getting support from family, friends, a support group, or a therapist.

There are many options to get effective help for stopping overshopping. The first thing I recommend is to go to my website www.stoppingovershopping.com and put your name and e-mail address into the box on the lower left hand corner of the home page. Immediately you'll get two free reports, 3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping and More Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping. Next, I'd go to the resource section, both the resources that we offer, and the other resources that are listed on the site and check them out. There are free resources listed on the site, like Debtors Anonymous, a number of other resources on the site, hypnosis tapes, websites, like savekaryn.com that can inspire you, myselfhelp.com, and the Stopping Overshopping Program and individual or group coaching sessions that we offer.

Before you buy anything, I'd ask yourself the following six questions:

1. Why am I here?
2. How do I feel?
3. Do I need this?
4. What if I wait?
5. How will I pay?
6. Where will I put it?

This will slow you down and give you a chance to muster the strength to resist buying. And every time you resist buying, make sure to say something affirming to yourself because you will have done something difficult and deserve recognition!

Michelle, I wish you success in stopping overshopping.

Warm regards