Advice

A Things Winter Powder days, fi reside hangs, sweater weather and toddies for all… Winter iscoming so let our readers know how you can make the most of this special season. At Debt’s Door Quarantine’s been weighing on me, and I’ve been making a lot of unnecessary purchases. I know I need to stop wasting money, but I just keep ordering thing after thing. How can I get that satisfaction from buying something without actually buying it? --Going Broke Compulsive shopping is often motivated by a longing to escape uncomfortable emotions, for example, anxiety or stress. It has similarities with addiction disorders, observes behavioral economist Shahram Heshmat, such as a “buyer’s high,” a rush of excitement when purchasing an item. However, the relief from emotional discomfort is quickly replaced by guilt and remorse for the SCIENCE ADVICE GODDESS We humans are ever-failing self-dis- irresponsible spending, which can fuel ciplinarians, two-legged weasels talking a “vicious cycle”: the need for “another ourselves into things we know we ‘fix,’ purchasing something else.” shouldn’t do. For example, there’s that To break the cycle, you need to “prosaying, “Everything happens for a rea- tect long-term goals from short-term son.” No, the fact that those $800 shoes consumption decisions,” Heshmat are now $465 does not count as a reason. explains. This starts with recognizing Unfortunately, the your triggers: uncommore you behave bad- fortable “negative” ly, the more disposed emotions like feeling you are to keep behaving hungry, angry, lonely, badly -- that is, to devel- or anxious, which make op a habit of behaving you more likely to fling badly. Habits are born the future out the winContact us today on a microscopic level, through what might dow to get that quickfix buyer’s high. to schedule your ad be called a conspiracy of brain cells. Typically, any Remind yourself regularly that uncomfortable action you take requires feelings will not kill you. ON STANDS AD DEADLINE the triggering of thou- Amy Alkon They’re also tempoNOVEMBER 5 NOVEMBER 2 sands of these tiny cells, called neurons. They fire off electric signals to other neurary. Make a pact with yourself that when you feel the urge to shop, you’ll instead rons, ultimately messaging your body to acknowledge the underlying feelings 541.383.0800 | advertise@bendsource.com get it to act. you’re escaping, tell yourself you can hanBecause even lifting your finger to dle a bit of feel-bad, and then do what you pick your nose requires a massive army of can to feel better, like calling up a friend. neurons, the brain is an energy hog, guz- In case you get their voicemail, come up zling more energy than any other organ. with other healthy diversions like taking Evolution, on the other hand, is big on a walk or streaming a trashy action flick. SHINE THE thrift, so it’s implemented energy efficiency measures that sometimes lead you to behave in counterproductive ways. Of course, what you can’t see or click on, you can’t buy. Stay off shopping websites, and wipe them from your computSPOTLIGHT ON YOUR Whenever you repeat a behavior, retriggering the same army of brain cells, chemical changes occur that effectively wire these cellular troops together into a sort of collective action pack. This puts er by clearing your cache, cookies, and history. You might also prepare to padlock your phone in a box and set a timer for a day, or at least several hours. To arm yourself with positive motiLOCAL you on automatic, so, for example, on day two in the Airbnb, you don’t have to vations to counter negative feelings, prepare to reset your emotional clock from NONPROFIT search for the light switch or figure out how the dimmer works; you just unthinkingly hit the switch and crank the dimthe uncomfortable “now” to the exciting possible future. Stock up mental pictures of the benefits of behaving in financially mer. The more you repeat a behavior, the responsible ways, like a snapshot of you The Source Weekly’s Give Guide features ON STANDS NOV 12 more automatic it becomes. You basically go into robozombie habit mode -- mental and your friends enjoying drinks at a beautiful condo you buy with your savings.Central Oregon nonprofi ts and provides readers with a path to year-end charitable donations. Each profi le highlights the organization’s mission, how to directly get autopilot -- with nary a consult with your Department of Reasoning, which, in fact, gets shut out entirely from the process. Obviously, there are good autobeRONALD McDONALD HOUSE Make a donation at CentralOregonGives.org FAMILY & CHILDRENCOPY DUE NOV 2 In time, as you stop responding to bad feelings by click-shopping your way to bankruptcy, the neural tentacles of your habit will weaken, as will the clutches of involved or how to donate. In addition, all profi les are featured on bendsource.com FENCES FOR FIDO haviors and bad autobehaviors, but behavior you robotically repeat despite your compulsion. You might also work up a little compassion for yourself for having for a full year and presented at least once adverse consequences (such as becom- it in the first place. Technology has made

Nonprofit Name 1234 Address St., Suite A, Bend 541-123-4567 email@emailaddress.org webaddress.org This is 90 words. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi zzril delenit. MISSION STATEMENT WHAT YOUR DONATIONS CAN DO $20 Will feed a family for a month $50 Will bring in-home care for one month $100 Will feed a family for 6 months $500 Will provide care in home care for 6 months MOUNTAIN STAR in our digital newsletters. ALSO... All participating nonprofi ts will be featured in CentralOregonGives.org as part of the online giving program running from Nov. 12 – Dec. 31st. GET IN TOUCH TO LEARN MORE AND RESERVE YOUR SPACE TODAY ing a tent-dweller with fabulous shoes) is “compulsive.” Neuropsychiatry researcher Judy Luigjes and her colleagues define compulsivity as repeatedly feeling compelled to perform an act (and being unable to stop oneself) while at the same time “being aware” that the act conflicts with one’s “overall goals.” our lives vastly easier, but it’s also given us countless new ways to mess them up. Back in 1347, people were freaked about the bubonic plague, just like we are at the ‘rona, but they simply didn’t have the option of getting drunk at 2 a.m. and sending off a carrier pigeon with an ill-advised order for obscenely pricey shoes. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, Nonprofit Name 1234 Address St., Suite A, Bend 541-123-4567 email@emailaddress.org webaddress.org This is 90 words. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi zzril delenit. MISSION STATEMENT WHAT YOUR DONATIONS CAN DO $20 Will feed a family for a month $50 Will bring in-home care for one month $100 Will feed a family for 6 months $500 Will provide care in home care for 6 months