Antidepressant Helps Compulsive Shoppers

Celexa May Curb Urge for Compulsive Shopping

WebMD Health News

July 18, 2003 -- Does shopping make you feel better when you're down -- that is, until you're hit with a bill you can't pay? If so, you may suffer from compulsive shopping disorder, but a new study shows that taking an antidepressant can help curb uncontrollable shopping urges.

Compulsive shopping disorder is when a person is preoccupied with shopping and unable to resist buying things she or he doesn't need nor can afford.

Twenty-four people who suffered from compulsive shopping disorder took part in the study to determine if an antidepressant could help. Most of the volunteers had engaged in compulsive shopping for at least a decade, and their habits had led each into financial dire straits.

All of the participants in the study took the antidepressant Celexa. After seven weeks, more than half of the people said their symptoms were "very much improved" or "much improved." When researchers repeated the test giving half the group a placebo drug, the group taking Celexa continued to do well while 60% of the placebo group slipped back into their old compulsive shopping habits.

Celexa belongs to a class of antidepressants called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which also includes drugs such as Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft.

The research appears in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Antidepressants Proved Effective in Most

"I'm very excited about the dramatic response from people who had been suffering for decades," says lead researcher Lorrin Koran, MD, from Stanford University Medical Center, in a news release. "My hope is that people with this disorder will become aware that it's treatable and they don't have to suffer."

Three people dropped out of the study because they experienced side effects from Celexa, including headache, rash, and insomnia.

Researchers say they are also excited about hope for people with compulsive shopping disorder because of the overwhelming problems it can cause, such as:

Depression
Financial hardship
Relationship problems

Compulsive shopping disorder is a condition researchers say should be taken seriously because of its potentially damaging effects. The study shows that the disorder affects between 2% and 8% of the U.S. population.

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