Here's a jarring story from the UK: 77-year-old compulsive shopper Joan Cunnane went missing over Christmas and was eventually found buried under a three-feet high pile of boxes. Hoarding is a genuine mental illness, but anyone who likes to shop might identify a bit too closely with anecdotes like this one:
Her closest friend, Roy Moran, 77, said: "I think it just gave her pleasure to buy things - none of it was really essential. I once asked her how many scarves she had. She said she thought about 300. I asked her why she needed that many. She said they were all different colours. Scarey but 89 boxes of crap and this may happen to me....my new year's resolution is to stop shopping and consuming...
