“After moving down to London, I spent the first three months in an very edgy state and my spending was out of control. When feeling particularly panicked about work one day, I spent £160 of my overdraft on this hideous tan leather jacket with leopard print and bright pink lining from one of the weird leather shops in Camden.”
The link between stuff and feelings of overwhelm seem, anecdotally at least, to be strong. For Roisín, a 26 year old health journalist, the experience described above was a typical response to feeling like she had no escape from stressful situations that were provoking a negative spiral. Rather than taking time to reconnect to herself, she got lost in the treadmill of buying to try and feel better.