Understanding Compulsive Shopping

This lesson introduces compulsive shopping as a repeated pattern of buying that becomes difficult to control despite financial, emotional, relational, or practical harm. Students learn how to distinguish occasional overspending from a cycle driven by urges, emotion regulation, secrecy, and short-term relief.

The lesson focuses on awareness rather than blame. By the end, students can identify common signs of compulsive buying, understand the basic urge cycle, recognize why shame keeps the behavior going, and begin observing their own shopping patterns with curiosity and honesty.