Before moving to Dubai I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a degree that was as strange to me as not having botox is to Joan Rivers. While a lot of the time I listened to my lecturers droning on about crazy experiments, which consisted of electrocuting people, and not really seeing the relevance, it was during my final year that something (finally) began to make sense to me.
Sat there in the crowded lecture theatre, and contemplating what I wanted to have for lunch, I heard the words; ‘Shopping lifts our spirits, increases endorphins to the brain, and makes us feel better about ourselves. So in fact that impulse shoe buy is actually good for you.’ I sat up straighter in my (very uncomfortable) fold down chair, had I heard her correctly? Had she just said the words shoe shopping was good for you, proven fact?! What an amazing psychological discovery.
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The lecturer (who was now by favourite btw) went on to explain that shopping requires the processing of information in order to make a selection. In doing this we use our built in discrimination skills, processing each choice through a process of elimination. Women tend to spend money to improve their environment, to add some quality to their life. It is part of self-care, direct self-care. Women experience pleasure and power in being able to go out and get what they need. I thought about my own motivations for going out and buying a pair of shoes, and while it’s true I get a pleasure from the thrill of purchasing, it is also extremely satisfying to me that I have earned the money to buy them. Those piles of shoe boxes in my bedroom are a reminder to me that I have worked hard to put them there.
Today’s women have more buying power than any time in past history. If we want the latest Louis Vuitton merry go round pumps in alligator, then we can have them. What’s more shopping makes you feel good. It activates key areas of the brain, boosting your mood and making you feel better. Not only that but buying a lush new pair of peep toe sling backs can actually improve your self esteem, after all you feel good when you know you look good.
Carrying this valuable piece of psychological evidence around with me has certainly helped to increase my shoe collection, but, if you really do need an excuse to buy those OTM YSL tribute heels just tell yourself ‘this purchase will improve my psychological wellbeing’. After all we could do with a little mood booster and those new shoes should just about do the trick!
Sophie Fletcher
Dubai
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