Modeling Awards: Outfit Post: Why my insurance company needs to cover retail therapy.

Life is stressful. There's pressure from jobs, with a constant influx of projects and deadlines and uncooperative coworkers and really, really bad food in the cafeteria. There's stress from spouses or boyfriends, niggling us with arguments about whose turn it is to fold the laundry and who forgot to pick up milk and good God, did you really forget the date of our anniversary? There's stress from raising children, from nagging mothers and sibling rivalries and wearing a swimsuit in public and cooking a healthy balanced low-fat 'clean' meal that's also edible and keeping the house clean and OH MY LORD,* STRESSY TIME* I AM GOING TO LOSE IT, LIKE PULL A BRITNEY AND SHAVE MY HEAD LOSE IT whine whine whine AARRRGGGHHHHH.

When I get stressed out, I typically engage in one of the following activities:

I hop on the treadmill and pound out three miles,
or I gather my friends and bond over snarky sarcastic quips and self-depreciating jokes (which I prefer over weepy conversations about my feeeeeeeelings),
or I dissolve into a sniveling hot mess dry heaving in the bathroom,
or I climb into my car and escape to a thrift store.

Truthfully, going thrifting is my preferred manage-the-stressy-time technique. There are few things that replicate the mind-zonk which shopping gives me. The outside world fades away until all that's left is me, the store I'm in, and that amazeballs beaded vintage purse, don't even look at it because I totes saw it first.

Stores don't care that my almost-teenage daughter insists on including an eye-roll with every conversation. Stores don't care that I'm riding the PMS roller coaster. Stores don't care that some anonymous coward left a nasty comment on my blog. Stores don't care that I'm turning 37 on Friday and the mere thought of another birthday makes me stabby. The purchase of a (insert item here) makes me feel, well, better. Even if that item is a $2 skirt from Texas Thrift.

A study published in Psychology and Marketing, entitled "Retail therapy: A strategic effort to improve mood," officially establishes what I've known for years.

"Retail therapy" is often applied to the notion of trying to cheer oneself up through the purchase of self-treats. The negative moods that lead to retail therapy, however, have also been associated with greater impulsivity and a lack of behavioral control. Does this lead to mindless shopping when consumers are "down" and regret later? The current work documents that a bad mood does lead to greater purchase and consumption of unplanned treats for the self. However, it also provides evidence that the consumption of self-treats can be strategically motivated. Those individuals who do indulge can also exercise restraint if the goal of restraint also leads to improved mood. Finally, retail therapy has lasting positive impacts on mood. Feelings of regret and guilt are not associated with the unplanned purchases made to repair a bad mood.

The study noted that "respondents bought clothing (26.1%), food (20.3%), electronics (17.4%), entertainment products (17.4%), accessories (e.g., jewelry and shoes) (12%), and other (e.g., household items) (6.8%) as treats," and they spent on average $59.18 to feel better about whatever's going on in their lives and $115.24 to celebrate an achievement.

And all this spending really did improve shoppers' moods: 82% were totally happy post-purchase and almost no one had buyer's remorse.

If you self-medicate through new clothes and shoes and cosmetics and bags, you are not alone. Of course, the high one gets from a new purchase is temporary - once the thrill of the new purchase fades, I'm still left with an obnoxious pre-teen and a middle-age birthday to wring my hands over.

Do you turn to shopping to alleviate stress? How often do you experience buyer's remorse? Do you ever buy yourself something just to feel better?