You might be a shopaholic if ...

When it becomes a problem
What do women want? In order of preference, most female compulsive shoppers buy clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup and compact discs.

Men? Clothing, shoes, electronics (TVs, stereos, computers, etc.), hardware and CDs.

Sounds normal enough, right? So how does compulsive shopping differ from your last trip to the mall?

"Well, they don't buy one CD, they buy 10 CDs at a time," says Black. "They might buy five skirts, all the same, perhaps in different shades or slightly different styles, where a normal buyer would identify a need for something new or attend a sale and buy one item."

Benson notes that shopaholics overspend on services, as well as goods.

"I had one patient who had her hair blown dry maybe two or three times a week. Between the color, the cut and the blow-dry, she was spending at least $200 if not $250 a week on her hair, and that didn't include all the hair products," she says.

Some shopaholics have more eccentric tastes, though they are by far the minority. Black had one patient who was addicted to Beanie Babies, another who compulsively bought garden figurines; Benson treated a man who only bought compulsively for his camper.

Black says the typical shopaholic cycle is not unlike that of the compulsive gambler -- or even the serial killer.

"What the patients will typically describe is they have a baseline preoccupation with shopping, they're always thinking about it, and a tension builds and they have to satisfy that tension by going out and shopping. That relieves the tension, at least for the time being," he says.

Some shop out of loneliness, others for the rush of it, still others to fill some inner need. Some seek greater self-esteem, others use it to battle depression. Some shop to return to a happy childhood, others to escape a bad one.

But few shopaholics consider it a debilitating disorder until the spiral of debt or marital discord leaves them no other choice.

All of which makes compulsive shopping especially difficult to treat.

Black says drug studies using seratonin uptake inhibitors (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc.) have met with mixed results, as the disorder seems to respond equally well to drugs and placebos.

Benson hopes to start her own 12-step-style therapy program this fall, focusing on group techniques to change cognitive behavior. The only other group program treating compulsive shopping in this way is in Fargo, North Dakota.

"Frankly, there is so little research done that I'm not sure you can talk about success rate," Black admits. "Very few people are studying this or writing about it. There are no standards for treatment so there are no good definitions of what constitutes recovery. Is their buying down to your level or my level? Or should they abstain from shopping like they tell alcoholics? You can't do that realistically. Maybe if you go shopping, at least have someone with you so you don't go overboard."

Jay MacDonald is a contributing editor based in Florida.