McGhee 1 Jarris McGhee Argumentative Research Essay English 1102 WF

Retail Therapy: Phenomenon or Solution A rough break up, the death of a friend of family member, the stress of midterms, an ugly divorce, starting or losing a joball of these life events can cause a flood of varying emotions, eventually affecting the mind and body of an individual and must be dealt with. Since allowing them to consume our lives is not an option, how do we cope with and combat these emotions? What is your weapon of choice? Is it hiring an expensive therapist that listens to you talk about your issues or is it going to a local gym and hitting the punching bag for a few hours? For some, sitting on a couch or standing in a gym is not the answer, they would much rather grab their wallet or pocketbook, head to a local mall, and become another participant in the phenomena now known as retail therapy or self-gifting. While this dash to the department store more often than not has its desired effect for the consumer, many psychiatrists and psychologists are not buying it. With any somewhat new mainstream idea or concept comes are multiple viewpoints, skepticism, no shortage in backlash of theories, and this is no different. However, the only theory that matters is that of the individual desiring a treatment. Are they better afterwards? That is the question. While some medical professionals will try to dismiss and discredit retail therapy, it is in fact a legitimate therapeutic solution. Therapy is defined by the American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary as any form of treatment for any illness or disorder. Yet, psychologists such as Michal Plastow continue to make arguments that the notion of retail therapy is laughable at best, and would if anything,

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prove to be detrimental to an individual leading to their emotional and economic collapse (Plastow 12). His argument is based on extreme scare tactics, reminiscent of politicians that use terror rhetoric as a means to get elected. It is hollow and consistent with that of an individual with a limited sociological imagination. He speaks on the possibility of individuals putting themselves into financially difficult situations as a result of spending irresponsibly under the guise of retail therapy thus only increasing their mental strain. It is quite obvious that anything in excess most likely results in a negative effect. Anytime an individual has an actual physiological or psychological dependence on any substance, object, or action is an addiction and that is a problem. However, looking at the average rates that that traditional therapy tend to cost, it is no mystery why doctors are not in favor of treatment via retail therapy. A 2006 study released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness showed that after incurring the charges for medication, psychotherapy and other various treatments the average costs for individuals diagnosed with depression was $1,496, with no guarantee of treatment. As for individuals with restricted coverage, their treatment averaged at $4,312 annually, also with no guarantee of treatment (Harris). With more than 19 million Americans being diagnosed with depression every year, it seems that the medical industry is more concerned with making sales than the Gap and Express could ever be. Talk therapy is when a person would speak with a psychotherapist utilizing them as a life coach or personal counselor. It is probably the most traditional and recognized form of therapy, but still comes with a nicely-sized price tag. This is what passes for $150 an hour advice in this country?! says Helen Murphy, a less-than-satisfied costumer of talk therapy. I've been to therapy, and they haven't taught me anything I couldn't find in Feeling Good., a self-help book that can now be found for an average of $6 on Amazon.com. Figures such as this make Plastow appear not only hypocritical but selfish as

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well. If one can cure with going to a thrift store or snagging items from the clearance rack in the opposed to cleaning out their bank account for three 90-minutes sessions that have no effect. It seems that financially responsible answer is in the stores. People have always been particular about their money and income. Coming out of the greatest economic depression the country has seen in quite some time, many are curious as to how people are keeping from slipping into a depressed state. Why are we shopping again? What is making us get back out and spend again? We are the reason. It is necessary to take care of ourselves; before we can help others and helping out the economy isnt a bad incentive either. While some medical professionals have elected to denounce the retail therapy theory, others have decided to embrace it, and investigate the reasons of its growing popularity. Selin Atalay and Margaret Meloy, both professors at Pennsylvania State University conducted two studies investigating the motives and the effects self-gifting. The first was conducted with a group of almost 50 college students and revealed that 98% percent of the students said they purchased themselves a gift as a means of celebration or mood-repair, and experienced an increase in elevated overall mood. The second study consisted of 195 people at a local shopping mall, the results revealed that mood repairing self-gifts were twice as prevalent as celebratory gifts were, all of which had the desired effect on the customer. We cannot expect that all human action can be put into black & white, and explained through the use of numbers scientific methods. Fortunately, some have, but others such as Ruy Perry, a fashion consultant in Washington D.C, prefers not to look at numbers but rather his firsthand experience of watching middle-aged men and women overcome years of low self-esteem and poor self-image after stopping through his store and picking up something nice just for them. The direct correlation between a good mood, a great attitude, high self-esteem and buying a

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nice dress for yourself has been proven time and time again. I dont know how people can dispute that; I have seen women and men brought to tears after we took them shopping and a new hair style, because they were depressed for so many years after due to feeling ugly. Hell, I think its safe to say shopping can cure depression at this point. Grown men and women know what they want; they know their desires, and what makes them tick. For anyone to try to telling them, No, that wont work for you, because it is not scientifically possible is absurd. Regardless of what side of any issue one supports, the fact remains that sometimes journals, articles, and studies cannot rationalize simple human behaviors or articulate human emotions. For that we have to step away from the scientists and the advertisers and focus our attention on the massive group people at the epicenter of the topic, the consumer. In the midst of the back-and forth between psychologists and sociologists, it becomes quite easy to forget them, but they are the reason for the debate. Two completely different people from two walks of life were presented with information on the on-going debate on the legitimacy of the retail therapy. Mya Mabry, a student at North Carolina Central University, explains that to the everyday person, they are completely indifferent to what titles, statistics and labels are attached to simply making a person feel better. Consumerism & Castration, who cares? A guy down on his luck or some lady who just got dumped doesnt. Everyone doesnt cope the same way. Some laugh, some cry, some shop. Thats me. Im a shopper. I dont break my bank account, and I always feel better. Treatment, according to the aforementioned definition of therapy, that qualifies retail therapy as a true therapy just as much as music therapy, chemotherapy, massage therapy and PUVA therapy. Whether this comes down to fear of change, shady medical practices, or an elaborate ploy to keep the medical business lucrative, the fact remains that at no point in history

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has every form of therapy been the solution for everyone. This is not to discredit any of the aforementioned forms of therapy, they are all extremely complex and extremely valuable contributions to modern society. Time after time we have seen medications and treatments cure and in other scenarios the same ones have killed. Discrediting the treatment ability of retail therapy or any form of therapy for that matter, is no different than claiming that the use of Penicillin is completely pointless. Since every medical procedure does not have the same effect on every patient, so why should be treated any different? Every Friday, I know I go out with the guys so we dont go crazy living here, says Logan Ashton, an Infantry Sergeant U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Its not sitting up in an office running my mouth, but spending money sometimes keeps us happy. It doesnt seem to hurt anyoneand it keeps a lot of people from getting hurt. That is the point of therapy, right?

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Works Cited American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. Second Edition. (Location): Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 2004. Print Atalay, A. Selin, and Margaret G. Meloy. "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Shopping": An Examination Of Self-Gifting Behavior." Advances In Consumer Research 33.1 (2006): 259-260. Business Source Complete. Web. 14 September 2012. Ashton, Logan. Personal Interview. 12 October 2012. Harris Interactive . Assessing the Costs of Depression. Case Study. May 2006. Murphy, Helen. E-mail interview. 27 Oct. 2012. McCarty, Mya. Personal Interview. 7 October 2012. Plastow, Michael. "Retail Therapy: The Enjoyment Of The Consumer." British Journal Of Psychotherapy 28.2 (2012): 204-220. PsycINFO. Web. 14 September 2012.