u/Natural_Feature_8907

Hi there friends!

It's been a while since I wrote. I'm taking my new meds (we haven't lowered the potential medication that can cause compulsive shopping yet because I thought I was doing better).

I am having a slow trickle of money going out of my wallet at DT. :-/

It's not really an improvement. We'll say it's been a rollercoaster as I had some hope earlier AND made it 13 days once thanks to the challenge in May here.

I finally asked my man to help me. We've been sharing finances for about a year now and I just asked him if we can set up a system. We've worked out a few details but it has already started!

My parents did something similar and a close friend years ago did it with her partner. Hopefully it will help. I really need support with this.

About the bed tent. A few have asked as I mentioned it in a past post. It's a black, round kind of tent (keeps sunlight out but we put lights up in it here and there - haven't found a good set that lasts unfortunately). I may take pics for y'all when we have the lights up again! But not yet - we are moving this weekend!

Anyway, if you google bed tent, they have so many varieties. I got mine on Amazon, but the listing is dead now :-/

How are you all doing? No really.. You read my post. How's it going with shopping, if you feel like sharing? (I'll respond asap as the move allows). <3 to you all!

Mandy is a 7 year old mutt with strong husky and cattle dog in her. She's spent the last 6+ years in the same home and she can be sensitive and nervous at times. Here is my plan to get her accustomed to the elevator (we're now on the 2nd floor and just take the stairs as she doesn't love elevators, moving to the 6th) and the apartment:

- we have 5 days to move so I'm thinking we'll bring her and some toys to the apartment.

- give her high value treats on the entire elevator ride (cheese, maybe pupperonis if we get them before)

- play with her in the apartment tonight

- take her back tomorrow and every other day

Any other ideas? This could go super smooth or she could have strong opinions about the move and we want them to be positive!

What has your experience been like?

I thought I had a money issue - as in never made enough. But I can see now it's a shopping compulsion/addiction. I have bipolar 1, OCD and am mostly recovered from my eating disorder.

I'm 47 now. I think I started on abilify when I was 27. I had problems with money and probably shopping before that. So I'm just not sure what end is up, but my psychiatrist says that she thinks I'll have an easier time treating the shopping issues if I come off abilify.

We discussed a lower dose or come off it. I opted to come off. So we're upping a similar medication for first 2 weeks, halfing the abilify and raising the other medication again for the 3rd and 4th weeks... then we see each other again.

I once had a psych med cause horrible anger in me. It took me 11 months to figure out it was a side effect. 😞

I also got akathisia several times from different psych meds. One time, it manifested in my eyes - at night driving, I wanted to look up all the time. And I'd look for something that would "satisfy" but never saw it and never felt better until sleep. I went to a neuro-ophthalmologist WTF to find out it was akathisia again. Another time, I went on a medication to treat the akathisia, that med gave me constipation which was so bad I'd throw up. I went to a gastroenterologist and even did an endoscopy before we figured it out LOL. That's sort of beside the point, but akathisia is this horrible itchy sweater feeling - a mental thing...

It's amazing to me that psych meds can cause really terrible mental conditions and behaviors and feelings that may not even relate to your disorder in the first place!

Back to compulsive shopping: I *started* a 30 day challenge not to shop. I made it 13 days, then spent $150 in the last 7 days on things I don't need - I even shopped at a store completely out of character for me. I go to DollarTree and thrift stores. This time, I went to Ross and couldn't tell you why it seemed like such a great idea.

I know we're all in this together and all of your perspectives are helpful, but if anyone who had this come on b/c of psych meds, how are you doing now?

Hello everyone! I just figured out I have a shopping issue (particularly two stores) about three weeks about. I took 4 tests online including the one on this sub's wiki - it seems I have a shopping addiction! I thought it started more recently and that I was "just bad with money" and/or don't make enough money, that's why I'm always broke. But that clearly isn't what's going on!

I cried a bit when I read that it may relate to OCD. I have a long history with mental illness and it feels impossible that more is being unraveled here!

Anyway, I am so grateful to have found this sub. What does recovery look and feel like? Do you feel very different? Relieved? Safe?

... I am more or less recovered from my eating disorder (it's hard for me to feel it will ever go away totally). I feel extraordinarily different. What I think about, what I do in a day/week, how I treat people, how I treat myself - so much better all around!

I want to daydream about recovery from this too! Thanks for reading.