Shop (& Return) till you drop?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/buy-or-not-buy/201008/compulsive-returners

A common understanding of shopaholism is what is portrayed in the popular movie/novel Confessions of a Shopaholic. The unstoppable desire to shop could lead compulsive shoppers to financial debts and disruption of careers or relationships. Dr. Benson, psychologist specialised in treating shopaholism introduced us to the idea of compulsive returning in this article.

This blog entry is perfect for the publication, Psychology Today, as it explores an interesting and popular psychological problem of Americans. Dr. Benson used layman languages as her target readers are not psychology experts. She has successfully demonstrated how compulsive returning, although not creating any financial burden to the individual, is a waste of physical energy and obviously time. Not only did Dr. Benson explained what the problem of compulsive returning means, she also suggested ways to deal with it, making this blog an informational piece for those who can relate themselves to the article.

From my point of view, this blog is a platform where Dr. Benson shares her expertise in treating shopaholism. I believe that anecdotes or even a short video clip of footage of a compulsive returner can better engage its readers. ABCNews had run an article (source 1) about compulsive returners and set a good example of getting quotes from a real compulsive returner. Todaytonight's story on a recovered shopaholic (source 2) was also effective in making its point and keeping their readers interested. Having said that, Dr. Benson's blog article delivered its message well as it provides all the important information.

The Australian Psychological Society revealed that up to one in every twelve Australian shoppers suffered from compulsive shopping back in 2004 (source 3). Despite its prevalence, it is not recognized as a legitimate mental disorder in Australia (source 4). It reflects that the problem is not being taken seriously in the nation despite the potential disruptions it may cause to an individual's well-being. Shopaholics may therefore refuse to acknowledge the need for them to seek professional help, and go through the self-denial process.

If you want to know more about shopaholism, here are the real confessions of a shopaholic girl (source 5):

Sources:

1) ABCNews, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Business/story?id=1481435

2) TodayTonight, http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/7951253/general/compulsive-shoppers

3) Australian Psychological Society, http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/shopping/

4)SMH, http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/shopping/diary-of-a-shopaholic-20100616-yfs6.html

5) Confessions of a shopaholic, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWXG9rEk6vQ

Telecare shows increasing success

(Source: http://www.multimedia-stock.com/repos/photos/ms_00008467_big_thumb.jpg)

http://www.latimes.com/news/health/la-he-phone-counseling-20100726,0,7381535.story

The use of telecare is a cost-effective way to assist patients which however cannot totally replace face-to-face counseling completely as we should not overlook the importance of cues in facial expressions and body languages. However, given telecare allows more flexibility than actually setting up an appointment at the therapist's office, it is a convenient supplement to traditional sessions.

In this article, studies showed that telecare heals pain and depression in cancer patients. It is a good piece of news as I believe the psychological health of cancer patients should be taken care of, not only the physical ordeals they are going through. In fact, phone-based therapy has been proved to be effective in treating other health issues such as obesity (source 1) and smoking (source 2).

Here is a clip about phone-based quit smoking program and a discussion for its benefits such as lower cost and higher degree of flexibility (source 3):

According to the study discussed in this article, a nurse talked regularly to patients on the phone. Despite the effectiveness demonstrated in the study, my concern is that nurses providing telecare must be adequately trained and understand when they should refer the patient to doctors or psychologists in case of complications.

This piece of article from Los Angeles Times presented the finding of this new study on the effectiveness of telecare on cancer patients with pain and depression symptoms, and explained the background of the study. The author also reported similar studies regarding attempts to use telecare to ease other health problems to enrich the contents. She also quoted therapists who worried about the over-reliance on telecare towards the end which made sure that different angles are well covered. In terms of effectiveness, this is a straight-forward yet news-worthy piece. The lead triggered readers' interest to continue reading and the article is based on good research and successful selection of quotes and facts.

Sources:

1)http://jtt.rsmjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/3/147

2)http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100518180928.htm

3)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaiZ7FRDjPY