Today, the Monday after Thanksgiving Day in the United States is becoming known as Cyber Monday. That’s because many people use the Internet to shop for holiday presents on this day.

Since this is a blog that discusses substance use disorder and addiction, Cyber Monday prompts me to wonder if shopping can be an addiction, like substance use disorder.

In some respects, compulsive shopping certainly appears like an addiction. People who shop a lot might feel a “high” or rush of emotions when they’re shopping. This is similar to how drugs can make their users feel high.

Excessive shopping is like addictions in other ways. Some shoppers will take great pains to hide their shopping behaviors and the things they’ve purchased, just as people who abuse drugs and alcohol will go to great efforts to hide their substance use disorder.

Compulsive shopping behaviors can also take over people’s lives, to a point where people spend all of their time thinking about shopping, shopping, or dealing with the effects of their shopping. The effects of all this shopping can include financial problems, the shoppers’ isolation or conflict with loved ones, and job problems (people might neglect their families and jobs because they’re busy shopping). Don’t these effects sound like what drug and alcohol abusers experience when their struggling with their own issues?

Treatment for people who shop too much also resembles treatment for alcohol abuse and drug abuse. There are a number of organizations who treat excessive shopping like alcohol and drug abuse. Some of these organizations use the 12 step model. The 12 step model requires participants to complete a serious of steps in order to find recovery and stay sober. The most famous proponents of this model are Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

Shopping, then, resembles substance use disorder in many ways. Luckily, we’re recognizing that such problems exist and developing new ways to discuss and treat them.