WeÔÇÖve all done it: bad day, quick browse, a treat in the cart. For ten minutes, it works. You feel lifted, shinier, as if a bag of polyester could fix heartbreak or work stress. Psychology Today calls it ÔÇ£mood regulation.ÔÇØ My survey called it ÔÇ£therapy.ÔÇØ

But therapy doesnÔÇÖt come with Klarna interest rates. And it doesnÔÇÖt guilt-trip you from the back of the chair. Research into compulsive buying shows the crash comes hard: anxiety spikes, guilt lingers, the financial hit hums beneath everything else.

One interviewee admitted, ÔÇ£I donÔÇÖt think I even wanted the clothes. I wanted the feeling I thought theyÔÇÖd give me.ÔÇØ ThatÔÇÖs the punchline. WeÔÇÖre not treating ourselves. WeÔÇÖre treating the symptom with the very thing that causes it.