Shopping has the ability to to raise your spirits - as well as your overdraft. More and more of us are developing an unhealthy habit to spending and sliding into debt, reports Emma Lunn. Take a look at our questions to see if you're in danger of spiralling into debt depression.

If your wardrobe is bursting with clothes you've never worn, or shoes that are still in their boxes, you may have a shopping addiction. Many people indulge in a spot of retail therapy when they're down in the dumps, but what happens when your shopping habits get out of control?

While it might sound trivial, shopaholism is a recognised addiction and sufferers are treated alongside alcoholics and drug addicts; there is even a pill you can take to lessen the thrill of spending.

According to addictions.co.uk, compulsive or addictive shopping is a form of behaviour adopted to avoid reality, and is accompanied by a high which causes the sufferer to lose control and buy many items for which they have no need. The website says the adrenalin rush and fantasy that surround the episode and everything that precedes the actual spending spree all bring a false sense of freedom from life's problems.

As with all addicts, shopaholics can end up feeling an overwhelming sense of shame, remorse and guilt. In addition to high levels of debt, consequences can include the fear of discovery, leading to denial and attempts to cover up the behaviour.

According to price comparison site uSwitch.com, more than 700,000 women are in the grips of shopaholism, having an average shopping debt of about £8,000 each. Together with Jay Hunt, spending and style expert from BBC3's Spendaholics, uSwitch surveyed women across the country to look at their shopping habits. It found that shopaholics spend nearly £100 a month more on fashion and grooming than non-addicts, and the typical shopaholic is saddled with £11,337 in total unsecured debt, £6,270 more than the average British woman.

A burning issue

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch, says: "Fat used to be a feminist issue, but it looks like it's been overtaken by debt. In today's celebrity-obsessed society, where women emulate the lifestyles and shopping habits of their favourite fashionistas, it's not surprising that women are becoming more interested in size zero than 0% APR.'

Certain celebrities are definitely leading the way when it comes to the shopping drug. Victoria Beckham is in a league of her own when it comes to retail therapy. The fashion-obsessed former Spice Girl is rumoured to spend £100,000 a year on clothes. Meanwhile, Sarah Jessica Parker is none too different from her Sex and the City character, Carrie, and admits to owning about 100 pairs of Manolo Blahnik shoes, costing anything from $300 to $1,000 a pop.

The desire to copy celebrity lifestyles can lead people down the route of excessive spending. So-called WAGS - football players' wives and girlfriends - hit the headlines during the 2006 World Cup with their spending habits. In just one hour in the German spa town of Baden Baden, six of the women blew £57,000 on clothes and shoes.

But it's not just women who become addicted to shopping. In fact, according to research from Dr Koran, from Stanford University in the US, men are almost as likely as women to be compulsive shoppers. Rather than clothes, shoes and accessories, they're more likely to be hooked on cars, gadgets, tools and electronics. They're also likely to be obsessed by auctions and to be avid collectors.

So why do we love shopping so much? Research by the Retail Trust shows that nearly a quarter of the country seek stress relief from a trip to the high street and 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds shop to reduce their stress levels - higher than any other age group.

Love spending?

Claire Feltham's spending habits were one of the reasons that led to her five-year relationship ending in 2006.

The 30-year-old PA from London had always had expensive tastes. "I loved buying things for myself and other people," says Claire (pictured). "I would do things like taking my family to a concert and paying for everything."

Claire rented a flat with her boyfriend, who eventually got tired of her excessive spending. "Sometimes he would try and discuss it, but I wouldn't want to. I think he could see that the relationship wouldn't be financially stable if it continued," she says.

Some of Claire's extravagant tastes had started to rub off on her boyfriend. After a proposal at a £600-a-night hotel, the couple started to plan their wedding with no expense spared; the dress alone cost £1,400. However, the two of them never made it up the aisle. "He broke it off three weeks before the wedding and said money was one of the reasons."

The split, however, wasn’t enough to help Claire recognise her problem, and her spending spiralled out of control after the relationship ended. "After the break-up, shopping made me feel better – it always has done. I lost weight due to the stress of the break-up so I needed new clothes to show my new figure off. I knew I had a problem but I kept spending. I sold my CD and DVD collection and sometimes lived on soup for weeks so I could still go shopping or go out with my friends."

By February 2007, Claire realised things had got out of hand. She was avoiding calls from credit card companies, debt collectors were knocking on her door and she was having panic attacks. She was £31,000 in debt and had been turned down for a debt-consolidation loan.

She says: "I've now got an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) and will be paying back about £21,000 over the next five years at £408 a month. I have stopped spending now and moved in with a friend who understands my situation."

How healthy is your shopping habit?

If you answer yes to three or more of the following questions, it is possible that you are a shopaholic and you should seek further help:

• Do you spend compulsively when you are feeling low?

• Has your spending caused upset in your family or relationship?

• Do you often find that you buy more than you set out to?

• Do you buy items you don't need or clothes you don't ever wear?

• Do you feel you 'belong' to the human race more when you are spending money?

• Do you suffer emotional consequences after a spending spree, such as guilt, shame, remorse or self-loathing?

• Have you ever spent money in order to relieve these feelings?

• Have you ever tried to stop this behaviour for any length of time?

• Do you continue to spend even though you cannot manage your debts?

A sign of the times

Psychologist Dr Dorothy Rowe says people shop to reward or comfort themselves and the ease of obtaining credit has exacerbated the addiction problem. "Shopping addiction first became a problem in the 1970s when credit cards were invented," she explains. "Before that, you needed real money to buy things or you could make a down-payment and pay for things over a period of time and then take them home. Also, women couldn't borrow money on their own until later on."

Dr Rowe says that attitudes to credit have changed since the 1970s and it is now seen as normal or acceptable to be in debt. "People don't see credit cards as spending real money and also, as internet shopping has got easier, people who don't like going shopping are buying things online," she explains.

So, how can the problem be treated? For true shopaholics, treatment is similar to other addictions such as alcohol and drugs. Phillip Hodson, fellow of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, says the first step is admitting you have a problem. "Next, look at your reasons for shopping - getting attention in a shop, the novelty value or buying something new so that you feel your life is moving forward. Are you doing it because of other problems in your life or the feeling that something is missing?"

Hodson suggests then looking at the extent of the problem and quantifying it. If you're spending well over what you earn, then you will be in debt as a result. "Often shopaholism is a symptom of something else - perhaps shopping is fulfilling something in a person's life or is a substitute for something,:" he suggests.

Struggling to pay your bills?

Simple steps to get back on track:

• Stop spending! Cut up your credit cards and pay only in cash.

• List what you owe and to whom. Prioritise your debts: pay off those with the highest interest rates first.

• See if you can switch any of your debts to a lower rate of interest.

• If you have bought lots of items you have never used, sell them on an online auctioning site, such as eBay.

• Work out a budget based on your income and how much you need for necessities. Organisations such as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service can help make a budget you can stick to.

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