Addict shopped 'til she dropped

Whenever she felt bored or depressed, Ms Ho went shopping.

What began as an occasional release gradually became an obsession and burdened her with massive debt.

'I had an uncontrollable impulse to buy things,' she said. 'I would go to a boutique and buy several pieces of clothing - all the same design, just in different colours. Even when I bought a pen, I would buy several.'

The 46-year-old white-collar worker was diagnosed as having an impulse-control disorder by a psychiatrist three years ago.

She said her shopping obsession began in 1997 when she was under stress from work and her love life.

'Shopping centres are everywhere. Whenever I was shopping, the distress I felt and all the troubles seemed to go away. There was no room for anything unhappy,' she said. With her monthly pay of HK$45,000, Ms Ho was earning enough to pay her living expenses and save some money. But because she spent money obsessively, she topped the limits of her credit cards and accumulated HK$80,000 in debt.