Are you worried you enjoy all the holiday shopping a little too much? University of Iowa psychiatry professor Donald Black helps treat compulsive shoppers. Black says going a little overboard buying presents at Christmas doesn’t make you a compulsive shopper.He characterizes compulsive shoppers as people who shop excessively and spend inappropriately all the time, not just during the holidays.Black can’t exactly nail down what causes people to compulsively shop.He tries to get compulsive shoppers to find other outlets for their time. Black says anti-depressant medicine has been tried as a cure for compulsive shopping, but he’s not been impressed with the results.Black says some compulsive shoppers just need a little counseling and they can turn things around.Black says you can help a compulsive shopper by being supportive of their efforts to stop.
