What motivates impulse-buying?

“What is the psychology behind impulse buying and is it treatable?”

To the great irritation of some mental health workers, a number of not so clever people still try to make the not so funny joke that goes something like “we are all mad, it is only a matter of degree”. Other than the fact that this is not a laughing matter, the other reality is that they are wrong. The truth is that mental disorders have formal diagnostic criteria that have been agreed by experts in the field and therefore, a person is said to have or not have a particular condition in a manner that conforms to the diagnostic criteria of which there are two main ones.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has one, while the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has the other one. In practice the systems are very similar though not identical in some details. Most experts understand both.

Happily, the level of understanding of mental health issues in our country is on the rise and many people now seek help for mental health needs without the stigma of yesteryear.

Some, in particular the younger ones come following a Google search and seek confirmation that they have say a depressive illness, bipolar disorder and some come to us having done tests for ADHD. The reality therefore is that times have changed and the prejudice associated with ignorance is much less than it was a few years ago.

Your questions therefore demand that we take a deeper look in the system of classification on mental disorders. Mental health experts recognise a number of impulse control disorders.

For some, the problem of impulse control relates to their temper. These are said to have intermittent explosive temper. For them, relatively minor provocation leads to extreme fits of violence that is beyond, any explanation as to the cause. Such persons, could in a fit of temper damage much property and some have caused injury to other.

In a recent case, a young student broke his phone, laptop and TV before attempting to burn his clothes all because his girlfriend had sent him a message to say that she was going to see her sick mother. During subsequent evaluation, it was clear that this was a pattern of behaviour that had been present for some years.

The recent fires in Australia and parts of America and Europe have given currency to the term, pyromania. Those who have this condition have an irresistible impulse to set fire. Though no evidence showed a connection between pyromania and the fires, some people have asked questions about this rather interesting condition in which there is loss of impulse control. Similar to those who shop impulsively.

Kleptomania is the other disorder of loss of impulse control, where the patient often gets into trouble because they have an impulse to steal from shops or from homes.

The person steals things they do not need or want and that is usually the diagnostic characteristic which helps in making the diagnosis. It does not seem to make sense that one steals things they sometimes have plenty of and that is precisely what makes it a mental disorder.

All these conditions seem so different. One is about temper control, the other about fire setting and the other about stealing. They are however connected because they are due to the loss of the control of impulse.

There are other conditions that you may have heard about which have as a core symptom the fact of loss of impulse control. Alcohol and other types of drug abuse are related to loss of impulse control. The problem of pathological gambling is also traced to this type of lack of control. Recent studies link this latter problem of gambling with a number of reward system of the brain that have gone wrong, a very similar theory in the case of drug abuse.

As you can see, your seemingly simple question is taking us in a number of directions that seem rather complex. It is sufficient for us to conclude here that impulse buying could be a problem of impulse control. That said, there are other conditions in which people buy things impulsively. People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do things impulsively. People in the manic phase of a bipolar mood disorder sometimes go on spending sprees that lead to financial ruin.

At the end of the day, a mental health expert will help you understand what might be causing the person to buy things impulsively and the treatment and outcome will depend on the cause.