Oniomania in MS -Compulsive shopping. There is a rush for repeated purchases which
can be associated with symptoms and feeling such as:
Emotional deprivation.
Inability to tolerate negative feelings.
Need to fill an inner void.
Approval seeking.
Perfectionism.
Need to gain control.
Oniomania as a symptom of MS is rare.
Oniomania in MS tends to arise from a deep-seated need to replace something lacking
in one’s life. The natural healthy highs experienced from good relationships, the
pleasure of raising children, having friendships or performing well at work may be
appear to be endangered. Thus the person may seek outside of their current existence
for a way to mask pain at possibly missing such things. Some may turn to alcohol,
drugs or smoking, and others may turn to shopping.
Often oniomania can lead a person to rock bottom situations where they lose all of
their possessions and can damage relationships with family and friends beyond repair.
