The dictionary specifies addiction as a way "to devote or surrender oneself to something habitually or obsessively; behavior that impairs the performance of a vital function(s), a harmful development." Dependency causes you to lose your equilibrium and reason.
Below all addictions is a yearning for immediate gratification—to feel great, mighty, worthy of appreciation, and problem-free—and an insistence on discounting the long-range, self-destructive deductions of the behavior.
If you endure a spending addiction, one out-of-control buying spree is never adequate. Local malls and Net shopping sites have a bewitching attractive appeal for you. You gift the most pricey, plushest presents. Your buys reflect how aware you are about all the most voguish brands and designer tags.
Spending addiction is an effort to attempt to "purchase" happiness—to feel looked up to, to feel recognized, to feel empowered, to push aside distressful feelings, like self-distrust or self-disappointment—and may risk wrecking everything you treasure.