If you’ve seen how often I post haul videos on YouTube, you might be wondering, why does she shop sooooo much!? Didn’t she just post a video on her latest haul? If you read on I’ll explain why, I have several reasons and I figure, why not explain them here.
First of all, I LOVE TO SHOP, I mean who doesn’t right? Each of us girls has a thing, whether it’s clothes, shoes, bags, or makeup, jewelry has a place in our shopping madness too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the bags and makeup as well, but my passion is jewelry. Then makeup, then bags, then clothes, then shoes LOL. I think I’m really into jewelry because most jewelry is given to commemorate a special occasion. It’s used to symbolize something, but it can also be used to accessorize our outfits. If taken care of properly, jewelry can outlive clothes, shoes and bags, and can be handed down from generation to generation, which I think is a very nice sentiment.
The second reason I shop so much is I’m addicted to bead collecting. I started with Pandora, then X Jewellery, then Trollbeads and I told myself, only one TB bracelet is all I need/want. I don’t need to collect more charm beads from another brand, and those were famous last words. Six bracelets later, my Trollbeads wish list is miles long! I think my downfall is I like designing new bracelets with different themes, and therefore the more themes I think of, the more bracelets I end up having. I’m grateful it’s starting to slow down slightly, I have set themes and I’m just trying to finish them now. There’s not a lot of new stuff I love from all the brands I follow so that’s good!
The third reason I shop so much is, it really is retail therapy for me. I’m very anxious by nature and get stressed easily. I’ve never suffered an actual anxiety or panic attack, but as a child I remember I used to put my right index finger between my left index finger and thumb and rub the area next to the first knuckle in a type of pinching motion. I know it sounds weird but that’s only one thing I used to do. I used to do it so much it would form a callous from the constant rubbing. I also used to pinch the tops of my right knuckles, but I eventually stopped doing that naturally. Instead I started to chew my fingernails, which a lot of people do. As an adult I broke my fingernail chewing habit my chewing gum instead, but I still rubbed that first knuckle well into adulthood. I finally did some self reflection and figured out two things really helped my anxiety and stress: sugar and shopping.
I have the biggest sweet tooth. It used to be only for hardcore sugary candies like Nerds rope, or Blowpops (Still my favorite!), smartees, or gumballs, and I would eat so much at one time I would give myself stomach aches from all the acid the sugar produced. This was as a teenager, as an adult, I started eating more pastries, mashed potatoes, breads, pasta, OMG PASTA! And I realized, as I ingested all these carbs I felt better and wasn’t so anxious anymore. I also get that same high when I go shopping. So I come to a dilemma, do I keep eating sugar, and eventually become a diabetic, or do I go shopping for shiny, sparkling pretties?
It’s down one rabbit hole or the other, so instead I chose to shop. I know it’s a temporary fix, it’s a band aid for something else that is missing from my life (we can discuss that in some other post LOL), and I allude back to my first different post, I need to start exercising and taking better care of myself, and perhaps I will feel better that way without having the need to keep shopping. But I do have to say, I just really love shopping, I mean who doesn’t right?
