Women Over 40 Rock!

I get what this is.

And I know that sometimes I need it.

But I have to be careful not to do it all the time.

Therapy shopping is shopping that makes you feel good and not shopping because you need a particular item. In fact you had no idea that you would be buying that particular item.  You bought it because it makes you feel good.  At least this has been my personal experience.  Has this ever happened to you—-You feel unhappy, you feel sick, you didn’t get something your wanted and deserved, you feel old and ugly, not real smart, you just know nothing is really ever going to work out for you, you are overweight, you look terrible in a bathing suit, if you even have the courage to put one on, plus you are broke and you couldn’t get a face lift or botox treatments even if you wanted them. Or maybe you have experienced this, your husband is mad at you, you are mad at your husband, you don’t want to stay with your husband, he doesn’t want to stay with you, or you don’t have a husband. (Now replace the word husband with children or child in the preceding sentence).

Sometimes things are just overwhelming or you simply feel screwed!!!!!!!!

Hopefully this is just a temporary feeling that needs a relative quick fix and not serious therapy.  Let’s assume this to be true for now.  For now you are not feeling good about your self and your worth.  What could be better than finding a bargain?  The better the bargain the better you will feel about yourself and your self worth. Let me tell you about my last outing of therapy shopping.  I was feeling all the above-mentioned feelings one day and I just knew that I had to feel better.  Maybe I would feel more special if I could find something to buy that was really terrific and that I got for a bargain.  A fabulous and desirable item at a bargain price can REALLY make one feel good. Now I always seem to have to couch my “HUNTING” with something else.  I am off to COSTCO because I want to “SAVE MONEY” for my family on food and household needs. (PLEASE DON’T LET ME OVERBUY STUFF IN HUGE QUANTITIES AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME FIND A SPECIAL BARGAIN).  Almost always when I am in this mood I do find something.  Once I was lucky enough to go to the south of France on holiday. At several restaurants they served their water in these lovely clear glasses that had a bee figure on them.  I loved them and at that time I had not seen them in the states. In fact I had bought a set of glasses, because I did need glasses and they were on sale at a French shop that was going out of business.  I didn’t really, really need them but it must have been some sort of therapy shopping that day as well.  But it wasn’t a real coup because they were nice French glasses but not the ones I dreamt about. It was a good feeling but not a blowout one.  Close but no cigar as they say.  Anyway, on that fore mentioned trip to COSTCO, I found the glasses that I REALLY wanted. I was thrilled. I spent time figuring out what to do.  They came in two sizes, medium and large. Should I get twelve of one size or six in two sizes?  After much thought I figured that I was more likely to have six for dinner than twelve. I FELT GREAT.  I HAD REALLY ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING THAT MADE ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF.  I know that this probably sounds pathetic but I DID feel better about myself.  (Which I am just sure made me accomplish other good things).  Plus because of this therapy shopping no one ever knew that I had been pretty depressed and I got thru the rest of the day in good spirits. YEAH.

Of course you have to be careful not to overdo this therapy-shopping thing.  You don’t want to put yourself in financial ruin over it, you don’t want to have a household of fabulous bargains that never get used, take up space and that you no longer want. Nor do you want to spend your days returning all this stuff. Most importantly you don’t want this to turn into a full blown out addiction to shopping.  But an occasional quick fix to feeling better about yourself, knowing full well that that is all it is, isn’t so bad in my book.  What do you think?

PS: I only feel it fair to tell you this.  About those COSTCO glasses, I have never taken them out of their sealed boxes. (I can only hope that they are the glasses that I think they are and that none are broken).  You see, I have limited cabinet space and I just couldn’t get rid of those other bargain French glasses so I have put those unopened boxes in the attic waiting for a special occasion. But that does not diminish the good feeling I have when I think about them and believe it or not I do. Plus every time I go back to COSTCO I look for them and I have never seen them for sale again—lucky me for having been there on the day that they did sale them. And I know that an occasion will present itself for their use and I will feel SPECIAL all over again.

Claire Callaway, blogger for In the Trenches Productions, The First Entertainment Website Celebrating the Power and Beauty of Women Over 40!