Oniomania, or the shopping-related disorder that gets your finances out of control: “It can lead you to over-indebtedness”

The Christmas They are not only synonymous with family, friends and good intentions. Also It’s the busiest time of year. According to data from the report ‘Consumption in the golden quarter 2025′, prepared by KPMG and Appinio, Spanish consumers will spend an average of 969 euros between November and January, a period that coincides with the Black Fridaythe Christmas campaign and the winter sales.

This fact causes companies to multiply their promotional campaigns and the exposure of their products both physically and through social networks. In some consumers, however, this constant overexposure to consumer stimuli It can cause behavioral alterations that lead them to constantly buy unnecessary items, which causes deterioration and lack of control of personal finances. It is what is known as compulsive buying, also called oniomania, a disorder that already affects 5% of the population, says the Spanish Society of Dual Pathology.

According to a study by Cigna, a company specialized in health insurance, only a 19% of spiesñoles claims to feel financially stable. Added to this is that 30% of the population feels affected by economic stress and that 37% consider the cost of living their main concern. “This combination of factors creates an environment conducive to compulsive consumption used as an emotional escape route,” says the insurer.

“Every impulsive purchase generates a momentary feeling of relief, but it also activates the body’s stress response, raising cortisol levels. This sustained increase in cortisol affects blood pressure, causes insomnia, chronic fatigue and digestive discomfort, and blocks functions of the prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision making and impulse control,” he explains. Daniela Silva, specialist in Internal Medicine and E-Health Medical Manager of Cigna Healthcare Spain.

“In other words, the compulsive buying behavior itself begins a physical and emotional cycle in which Anxiety triggers the purchase, the purchase raises stress and cortisol, and prolonged cortisol causes physical discomfort and makes it difficult to regulate emotions, which can lead to new impulsive purchases,” he concludes.

Beware of the ‘snowball effect’

This type of behavior very negatively affects personal finances because it generates a pattern of uncontrolled spending on unnecessary items, which in the most extreme cases can lead to chronic debt.

“Making compulsive purchases generally involves misusing your income, affecting your personal finances and accumulating debts that can damage your financial health. Compulsively buying things you don’t need can even lead to over-indebtedness,” he warns. BBVA on his finance blog.

And it is precisely this situation of uncontrolled spending that makes us resort to financial products such as credit cards, mini-credits or revolving cards, that can end up generating the ‘snowball effect’ -the uncontrolled accumulation of debts- because its high interests end up making the debt unaffordable for many citizens.

Four tips to avoid compulsive purchases

-Establish a budget. Allocate a fixed amount of money for non-essential expenses each month and try to never go beyond that limit. If you follow this advice you will always have healthy finances.

-Make a shopping list. Before leaving home, write down what you really need and commit to only buying the items on the list, this way you will avoid buying useless items that you will never use.

-Pay with cash: Using cash for your purchases can help you control spending, since it is more tangible than using credit cards, which limits you to the amount of money you carry with you and you are more aware of the spending you are making

-Avoid all types of online purchases. Close all shopping apps, remove automatic payment methods, and turn off notifications. The Internet not only makes it easy to shop at any time, but also reinforces instant gratification.

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