Hannah Blass’s journey into the world of shopping addiction began with the purchase of a pair of Adidas Stan Smith sneakers. At the age of 23 and still a university student, Hannah recalls how her family couldn’t afford luxury clothing while she was growing up.

In 2019, she decided to buy the trendy sneakers for approximately £80 using her first credit card. The purchase brought mixed feelings of thrill and guilt.

“As a student on a tight budget, I knew it wasn’t a wise decision,” Hannah admits. “But the excitement of buying something beyond my means was a sensation I wanted to experience again and again.”

Initially, Hannah enjoyed shopping as a pastime, but as she moved through her mid-20s, it spiraled into an uncontrollable habit, significantly impacting her finances and mental well-being.

Now 30, Hannah can identify her issue as a shopping addiction. Experts explain that this addiction often stems from the dopamine rush associated with shopping. Dopamine, a chemical in the brain linked to pleasure, plays a crucial role in these behaviors.

Hannah reveals that she would spend hundreds of pounds most weeks shopping online, frequently indulging in late-night browsing on her phone. Her weekends were often dedicated to visiting stores for clothing purchases.

After university, Hannah got a job working in fashion marketing and was quickly promoted, meaning that she had more money to spend on clothes. But she also began to rack up severe levels of debt on her credit cards.

At the peak of her addiction, Hannah says that she was spending more than £11,000 a year on new clothes. Her credit card debt reached nearly £9,000. But she did not tell anyone about her financial problems.

When Hannah Blass bought a pair of £80 trainers with her first credit card, she was filled with excitement – and guilt

‘I didn’t recognise it as a problem because I didn’t realise I was addicted,’ she says. ‘I’d figure out how to pay off my debt and promise myself that I’d stop spending so much. But then, the next month, I’d spend way more than I intended.

‘I was always stressed about money and disappointed in myself.’

It began to dawn on Hannah, from Vancouver, Canada, that she had a problem in 2022 when she spent nearly £700 on a pair of Prada loafers.

‘They cost as much as my monthly rent,’ she says. ‘I had no idea why I’d bought them. And I ended up being too embarrassed to wear them because I was worried people would see the brand and ask me how I could afford them.’

The moment she knew she had to take action was when her husband, Benji, proposed to her in 2023.

‘My spending was putting everything in my life at risk,’ says Hannah. ‘I needed to afford a wedding, a home and eventually kids. How was I going to do that when I couldn’t stop spending like this?’

And experts say that shopping addiction is a growing problem in the UK. In 2016, a study found that around 5 per cent of adults were affected by the problem – also known as compulsive buying. A more recent research paper, published in 2022, concluded that the number of Britons affected has since doubled.

This rise has been blamed, in large part, on the Covid pandemic, when Britons increasingly turned to online shopping to distract themselves from the boredom of repeated lockdowns.

But with the right treatment it can be cured. One of the first steps, says Zaheen Ahmed, director of therapy at The UKAT Group, which runs addiction treatment centres, is identifying the cause.

‘For many people with a shopping addiction, mental health issues are to blame,’ he says. ‘Many of these people are unhappy in their lives and trying to fill a void, in the same way that an alcohol or gambling addict might. It’s not just clothes. It’s common to see people who obsessively buy things they don’t need from Amazon.’

Mr Ahmed explains that patients trying to work out if they have a shopping addiction should consider three questions.

Hannah made the decision to kick her addiction by turning to a strategy she had read about online called a ‘no buy’. This involved making a promise to herself to not buy any clothes for three months

Shopping addiction is a growing problem. A study found that around 5 per cent of UK adults were affected by compulsive buying

‘Have you tried cutting down on your shopping and failed?’ he says. ‘Do you feel guilty about your shopping? Do you get annoyed at people who question your shopping habits?

‘If you answer yes to two or more of these questions, it might be worth speaking to an addiction specialist.’

Studies show that addicts experience a dopamine spike when they indulge in their cravings.

‘The dopamine hit shopping addicts get from buying items is the same as cocaine users get when they take the drug,’ says Mr Ahmed. ‘And then, just like with cocaine, shopping addicts often crash after they’ve made a purchase, at which point they feel guilty or sad.’

Hannah says she believes her shopping addiction originated from a lack of self-confidence.

‘I grew up watching social media influencers showing off their designer clothes,’ she says. ‘I thought that, if I dressed like them, I’d have their confidence too.

‘This only got worse when I started working in fashion marketing. I was surrounded by all these women who wore expensive clothes and seemed to have their lives together. I wanted to be like them.’

She adds: ‘Each time I’d buy something I’d get a dopamine hit. Over time, I had to buy nicer, more expensive things to get the same hit.’

Hannah made the decision to kick her addiction without the help of a medical professional. Instead, she turned to a strategy that she had read about online called a ‘no buy’.

This involved making a promise to herself to not buy any clothes for three months.

‘I felt like I had no control over my life, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could be OK without new things,’ she says.‘It made me realise that I could live without shopping.’

Experts warn that this approach won’t work for all. ‘Many patients will benefit from antidepressants,’ says Mr Ahmed.

‘Others respond well to talking therapy, which helps them understand their mental health issues driving the addiction.’

Today, Hannah helps women overcome their overspending habits, through her website called The Style Audit. She says she has paid off her credit card debt and rarely buys new clothes.

‘When I started to share my story online, I was really surprised at how many women were out there going through the same thing,’ she says. ‘The problem is that much of it is hidden away because people these days shop on their phone, often while they’re doing other things.

‘It’s so easy for people go unnoticed until their debts really start to build up.’