[aged2324]

I enjoy going shopping..I like nice things but I also can shop at *****art.. is this a sign of mania or addiction
Most times I have the money but sometimes I put it on a credit card. I just wanted to put it out there..anybody have this problem?

[kaliope]

i was ready to sign off for the night but then i saw shopping under bipolar and had to take a peek...........OMG...that is how i know i am manic......i am just coming out of a mania. im agoraphobic yet i still managed to spend about 2k in the two months i was manic. i put the whole shopping channel lineup on my tv and got credit cards to three of them. it was like christmas for weeks at work with all the packages arriving. just the other day i spent 150 d0llars on dresses. i barely wear dresses. they were just so bright and flowery. i see something i think someone will like, i buy it. i bought a shelving unit to organize my bedroom and i went to ross to buy a basket for it to put my scarfs in and walked out with four baskets, a living room carpet, two pieces of wall art, bathroom rugs, towels and a shower curtain and i redecorated my apartment that night. to answer your question, yes, shopping is a sign of mania. so is oversharing....lol

[~Christina]

Oh I have in the past gone batshyt crazy shopping .. ugh Retail therapy is huge for us people with Bipolar.

I have knocked mine back to where I just don't keep any money on hand to do major damage. But my one guilty pleasure is Nail polish , I buy 4-6 bottle a month LOL cheap stuff too. but I get "my fix. "

My manic is almost always and angry mad irritable mess , so I don't ever want to spend money. I think I am "lucky" that way.

One way you can try and put hurdles in to help you not go on a retail binge, is load a prepaid visa card with X amount you can afford to spend before your already in a Hypo/manic state , when the money runs out , your done.

I feel for ya , been there done that and bought the ugly Tshirt !

Omg I love shopping! Especially on someone else's dime! In my job clients give me a few thousand to go buy cabinets, shower stalls, custom doors and windows, tile! It's so exciting.

When I'm in a crazy manic urge to buy, I'll walk through the store and put everything that I think I want into the cart. I'll walk around for awhile until the need to own a certain item fades away, so I just put it back on a shelf somewhere. After a while, my cart will be back to the one or two items that I at first came in there for. It's hard, but doable and takes time. Another urge bender is to only buy the stuff you need like groceries! I always end up with tons of food, but it's useful stuff. Nvr mind that you have a hundred rolls of toilet paper, the important thing is that it will get used, eventually!

[dshantel]

I love shopping, who doesn't. I've actually been shopping recently. Probably buying stuff I went use much. More makeup stuff, hair stuff, scarves even though it's warming out. I've also been thinking of going to get a nose piercing if hubby will take me. I don't mind feeling this way. Happy and in a great mood. Beats being all irritable all the time like I was a few days ago.

[Crazy Hitch]

Personally for me, there is a correlation between my mood state and my shopping sprees - generally the higher the mood ..... the more happy I spend - and truth be told none of it is really stuff I need just random stuff I "think" I want....

So if I'm aware of it I try work out beforehand whether the purchase is really necessary or just something I am attracted to on impulse - although even then when my mood is elevated I'm not really the best judge ...

So if it's really bad it comes down to handing cards to my husband (yup I've been known to just go swipe quite a few thousand in one day on what exactly oh I am not sure)

Originally Posted by dshantel

I love shopping, who doesn't.

I don't(!) One of my clues to hypomania is if I start shopping. If I want a bunch of colors, it's more than a clue. I have a particular palette, very heavy on the black, so… yeah. (And no patterns!) Lol, one time at Goodwill (which is where any shopping I do happens really), I showed BF a jacket I think it was -- black and a bunch of bright colors, sequins and everything in a wild pattern. I told him if I ever want to buy something like this, I am hypo FOR SURE! (And to not let me buy it!)

But it wouldn't even be the worst. The worst I actually bought. A more out of character thing could hardly exist. So foofy and in 2 colors I can't stand. There was the picture online and I thought it was the most beautiful thing…. but it was actually hideous and utterly ridiculous. Ooops.

Aged2324, I'd say if it's something you do on a regular basis, it wouldn't be a manic thing (possibly an addiction, but I wouldn't know). It'd be more indicative of mania if it's mood-congruent --if it only happens like that in an episode.

[RisuNeko]

When I'm manic I buy the most random things and then when I get home I don't even know what I've bought. Then I open everything like it's Christmas. Big things for me are makeup, art supplies, vitamins/nutritional supplements, beer/champagne. I never really buy those things if I'm not manic.

[travelbug2015]

About seven years ago I made a horrible mistake. I went on a shopping spree while in a manic state. This happened while I was living abroad. I would constantly withdraw money from an ATM. However, I didn't have the funds. I did have overdraw protection. My parents told me that they would help me with my finances for the two years I was overseas. But in my manic state I was totally irresponsible. My parents aren't rich. They never expected me to do what I did. I still feel very guilty about what I did to them. When I came back from my service abroad it was an awkward time. I had always been an 'up and down' mood kinda guy. However, looking back this was the first BIG sign that I wasn't well.

Four years ago I bought an airline ticket out of the blue to visit my friends abroad. I didn't have the money. So, I ended up putting the fare on my credit card. Not smart.

(What did I buy? Books...lots of books. So many books that I had two large suitcases on my return home..but not many clothes. I even had to ship books home. I couldn't part with them.)

[kmptrgeek]

I bought 2 cars 2 days apart. Bought the first one, and when I went back to pick it up (had them take some details off and put some on) I saw another car I liked...so I bought it too. Yeah...I was probably a little hypo then. Sure did feel good having 2 really nice MINI's though.

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by Innerzone

I don't(!) One of my clues to hypomania is if I start shopping. If I want a bunch of colors, it's more than a clue. I have a particular palette, very heavy on the black, so… yeah. (And no patterns!) Lol, one time at Goodwill (which is where any shopping I do happens really), I showed BF a jacket I think it was -- black and a bunch of bright colors, sequins and everything in a wild pattern. I told him if I ever want to buy something like this, I am hypo FOR SURE! (And to not let me buy it!)

But it wouldn't even be the worst. The worst I actually bought. A more out of character thing could hardly exist. So foofy and in 2 colors I can't stand. There was the picture online and I thought it was the most beautiful thing…. but it was actually hideous and utterly ridiculous. Ooops.

Aged2324, I'd say if it's something you do on a regular basis, it wouldn't be a manic thing (possibly an addiction, but I wouldn't know). It'd be more indicative of mania if it's mood-congruent --if it only happens like that in an episode.

LMAO I dont do loud flashy stuff either ......

But ......I once bought a bridesmaid dress at goodwill , pink and gawd awful.. Something I would never ever buy, But batshytcrazy Hypo.. yeah I did it. I came down and saw it hanging in my closet and I was just grateful I crashed before I had a chance to be caught dead wearing something so horrific!

Haha, I didn't wear that one either, seeing as how I had no occasion as a 40-something to dress as a 6 year old attending a fairie prom.
Because really, as remote as that possibility might seem unto itself, it was downright astronomically remote such an occasion would exist considering that at the time, I was living in a small town in the West totally filled with sporty outdoors-y types. I was considered to dress "unusually" (not really, but compared to the lock-step there, yeah) but that would've taken the cake for sure!

I almost kept it just as a reminder of how bad decision-making can get...

Though I don't wear patterns, I know for a fact that I did get a dress one time in a loud pink pattern, for alas, there is photographic evidence. (I saw it and said… you all know the refrain… "WTF was I thinking???!!!!")

Oh my.

I've got a habit of going big on purchases, return it and going bigger. They know me well at refunds.

During this last manic phase I ordered all new light fixtures for my house. $12,000. Went to the lighting store, looked through the catalogs, Got a sale associate, met with the electrician.
I needed a few rooms done. I did the whole house. They will be installed in a few months.

By then I will be down and not want to open my door.

I once bought a car when manic. This was before I was diagnosed bipolar.

Other things I have done, ordered new appliances.

I try to buy things for the house that make sense.

When I spend, I spend big.

[Homeira]

Still paying on my outragous credit-card bill... hypomania for me. One of the things I did was to go on trip I really could not afford right then. It was a great vacation though...

I shop irresponsibly when manic. I was waiting for a script to be filled and darted across to a jewelry store and spent $2400 on gold-and-diamond jewelry when i live in jeans and sweats. Yikes! When i came back down to earth i examined the pieces and they aren't even good quality. The stone in the ring is actually four shards crushed together. The manufacturing holes are still in the 'diamonds.' Such foolishness!

I like the idea of having a pre-paid credit card. I'm going to follow up on that. Preparedness. Now that i have my puppy on pet insurance it's an option. Always before i wanted a regular credit card for her but now i'm free to go to a prepaid one and i think it's a good idea.

[dxj5069]

Over the years, I've gotten MUCH better at managing my finances. In junior high/high school, during one of my manic episodes, I spent all of my hard earned savings on a gaming console, home theater speaker system, a blu-ray player, and literally tons and TONS of blu-rays - only to get rid of those later on when I would regret it after depression hit me. Those are so expensive. I've also splurged unpredictably on skincare products as well as hair products. I'd rack up 5-6 different face washes in two weeks, buy an expensive bottle cologne one after another. Oh, my goodness, then comes online shopping. I even bought a Nikon digital camera on a whim...$900 gone...just like that. Now I'm trying to use that camera to find a creative outlet if I feel depressed or manic. Gotta find a productive way to channel all the emotions, you know?

I kind of forced myself to stop spending so wrecklessly over the past year. I try to organize all my finances by only putting a moderate amount of money through my checking account and give myself a decent limit on my credit. And now that I have the responsibility of keeping track of my credit score and spending wisely, I always ask myself before making a purchase: "Do I really need this?" Sometimes finding other hobbies during my manic episodes, like writing, exercising, or drawing really helps me get my mind off of shopping when I feel bored and in desperate need of invigoration through spending.