European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A tto Home front 7 they re off shoppers Rush into a newly opened shopping mall in California. For some buying is a compulsion. Shopping junkies they gotta have i by Sarah Lonsdale London observer know a woman who keeps her credit cards in the Freezer. Every time she sees something he wants to buy she has to run Home and thaw them out. The theory is that by the time the ice is melted her impulse to spend will have evaporated in practice she shoves the Frozen cards under hot water and grabs the nearest cab Back into town. The temptation to shop is great. Retail therapy lifts the spirits and provides an immediate High that psychologists have compared to taking cocaine. A Survey last month of 1,000 readers of the British women s Magazine company reveals that Given the Choice Between having $3,000 to spend on clothes a Job promotion going on Holiday falling in love and losing 14pounds More would choose to go shopping than any other option. Eighty three percent say they be shopped for a psychological boost and one Quarter do this regularly. Although most people will admit to the occasional shopping Binge or unneeded Purchase up to 6 percent of the British population suffers from what has been termed Quot compulsive spending disorder Quot a uncontrolled obsessive spending which can often Lead to huge debts family breakup and even prison. Nicknamed the Quot anorexia of the 90s,&Quot the roots of compulsive spending disorder lie in the combination of an increasingly powerful consumer culture and easy credit says Richard Elliott a specialist in consumer affairs at Lancaster University in Central England. One woman told Elliott who is conducting a study on compulsive shopping for the government Quot i spent All the mortgage Money the rates tax Money the Gas and phone Bill Money and we nearly had our House repossessed. How could i do this to my husband i Don t know if he will Ever really forgive  another said Quot i m risking everything my children and my marriage just for goods i Don t even want. I feel awful about what i m doing. I think an electric Shock applied to my hand As it signs the Check would be  the people in the study had Low self esteem and a Lack of self control and suffered from anxiety and depression. Shopping delivered a Short lived High. Lawrence Michaels 45, was a compulsive shopper until he took Steps to Contro Tafter his wife threatened divorce Quot i wast and out of work and ran up debts of 13800 pounds about whenever pm Down having romantic problems or feel under stress i go shopping i have 50 pairs of shoes but i Only Wear about two or three of them a shopper sue Newman $19,500. My Bank threatened to take everything away from me and my wife said she had had enough. I bought records and tapes and never played them. I bought clothes i never  Michaels a founder member of the self help group for shopping addicts. , blames his addiction on a neglected1 childhood. Ronald Dreyer a psychologist and director of the addiction advisory Agency says the High achieved by compulsive shoppers is similar to that produced by drugs. \ Quot shopping induces a sense of Well being Quot he says. Quot people suffering from loneliness or rejection find the attention pampered on them by shop assistants very addictive. Quot Many compulsive shoppers will buy shoes a look at Imelda Marcos a because they get added attention from having their shoes  according to Elliott in addition to compulsive shoppers there s a broader band of Quot Binge Quot shoppers who mostly control their spending but once in a while lose control. Cathryn James 32, Falls into this category. Quot i have five double wardrobes of clothes. When i go out shopping i am really serious about it i can spend 2,000 pounds in an hour. I Don t have any credit cards a if i did i would be in jail by  a a then there s another group into which Many people fall those who go shopping to cheer themselves up. Sue Newman 38, is one of these. Quot whenever i m Down having romantic problems or feel under stress i go shopping. I have 50 pairs of shoes but i Only Wear about two or three of them. I do get real pleasure out of shopping. It. Really cheers me  in the United states unlike in Britain there Are clinics for compulsive shoppers. Or. Mada Hapworth runs the Hapworth Center in Manhattan n.y., where she sees around 50 patients a year suffering from compulsive spending disorder. Her cure includes group and individual therapy the ceremonial impounding of credit cards and debt counselling. Quot in this country As Many men As women suffer from this Quot she says. Quot the women buy clothes and jewelry themen buy Golf clubs and electric . Scripp3 Howard news service James Dobson on the family a my Mother and father were harsh t disciplinarians when i was a child and i was afraid of them both. My Cousin on the other hand was raised in a Home with very few rules. She was a spoiled brat and is still selfish today. Would you compare these two approaches to child rearing the authoritarian and the permissive Homes a and describe their effects on children. It they Are equally harmful to children in my View. On the Side of harshness children suffer the humiliation of total domination. The atmosphere at Home is icy and rigid and they live in constant fear of punishment. They Are unable to make their own decisions and their personalities Are squelched beneath the Hob nailed Boot of parental Power. Lasting characteristics of dependency hostility and even psychosis can i emerge from this overbearing oppression. The opposite approach a ultimate permissiveness a is equally tragic. In this setting the children Are their own masters from their earliest Babyhood. They think the world revolves around them and they often have utter contempt and disrespect for those closest to them. Anarchy and chaos reign in their Homes and their mothers Are often the most nervous frustrated women in the neighbourhood. When the children Are Young their mothers Are stranded at Home because they Are too embarrassed to take their Little devils anywhere. These children later find k difficult to yield to outside symbols of authority such As teachers police ministers or even god. To repeat both extremes of authority Are disastrous for the Well being of children. There is safety Only in the Middle ground which is sometimes difficult for parents to locate. _ _ a what goes through the minds of children when they Are openly defying the wishes of their parents the children Are usually aware of the contest of wills Between generations and that is precisely Why the parental response is so important. When a child behaves in ways that Are disrespectful or harmful to himself or others his hidden purpose is often to verify the stability of the boundaries. This testing has much the same function As a policeman who turns doorknobs at places of business after dark. Though he tries to open doors he Hopes they Are locked and secure. Likewise a child who assaults the Loving authority of his parents is greatly reassured when their leadership holds firm and confident. He finds his greatest Security in a structured environment where the rights of other people and himself Are protected by definite boundaries. Or. James c. Dobson is president of focus on the family an organization dedicated to preserving the Home. Correspondence should be sent to him at focus on the family . Box 444, Colorado Springs Colo. 80903. Saturday november 5,1994 the stars and stripes 15 it