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Assignment Cycle #2: Writing Prompt

Buying Things to Solve Personal Problems

Someone once said, "In American society, the solution to every problem is to buy something." If we have a headache, we buy a medicine. If we feel insecure about our personal attractiveness (and much advertising is designed to make us insecure), we buy toothpaste, or deodorant, or a fancy car. If we don't have time to spend with our kids, we buy them toys. If we feel bad, we buy a new sweater or a new gadget to change the mood and make us feel better.

In a wellorganized essay, answer the following question:

Do you think that buying something is a good way to solve emotional and personal problems? What are some alternative ways to solve these problems? Support your ideas with examples from your own experiences.

Buying Things to Solve Personal Problems

Emotions are very powerful because they control or influence the decisions we make in life. On the one hand, emotions are a good thing because they motivate us to do something better. Most people presently solve their emotional problems by buying themselves new stuff. My opinion is buying things can’t solve personal problems. First, most of the stuff they bought end up being useless in the long term because they bought it under impulse. Second, they don’t want to face with the emotional problem they are experiencing and the easy thing to do is to buy something so that they can feel better, but problem still there. Third, Emotional spending is not a healthy way to deal with unpleasant emotions. Comment by anthonymalatka: What do you mean by using “with” here? Can you clarify that in your writing, or do you not need to use it? Comment by anthonymalatka: Be sure to use articles. In this case, since you’re talking about a specific hypothetical problem that’s referring specifically to one you’re discussing already, the article should be “the.”

Most of the stuff they bought end up being useless in the long term because they bought it under impulse. One better way that individuals can deal with emotional problems is by starting a journal. Research shows that journaling has all kinds of amazing effects and one of them is helping individuals curb the habit of emotional spending. The thought journal will help one to know the cause of an individual ending up in a shopping. It’s important recognizing the emotion that one is dealing because one will be able to find ways to solve the problem rather than go for a shopping. Reflecting at a point in my life where I had self-esteem issues and I felt that I wasn't enough made me engage in retail therapy. However buying new stuff did not boost my self-esteem, therefore I chose to write down the things that made me feel insecure and decided to work on those issues one by one. After some time I managed to boost my self-esteem through journaling and not buying new things. Comment by anthonymalatka: A transition sentence would be valuable here, so that the reader isn’t as abruptly dropped into the discussion. Comment by anthonymalatka: I’m not entirely sure what you mean here. From what I’m reading, you’re suggesting that the thought is that journaling will help someone identify the root cause of why they’re going shopping. Comment by anthonymalatka: In this case, the article usage of “a” is misplaced, as is the word “for.”

They don’t want to face with the emotional problem they are experiencing and the easy thing to do is to buy something so that they can feel better, but problem still there. that individuals can use to deal with their emotional problems instead of buying new stuff is spending time with loved ones or friends. This is something that I have practiced in my life and it ended up working on reducing retail therapy. Spending time with family or a trusted friend is therapeutic compared to shopping. This is because friends help one to forget about all their misery by engaging you in activities that take your mind off the thing that is bringing you emotional problems. The other reason why hanging out with friends is better is because of the old saying; a problem shared is a problem half solved. Therefore by inviting friends over or going to a friend’s place in times of crisis is beneficial and has worked for me in the past because friends will always give you the answers you need to tackle the emotional problem you are currently experiencing. Comment by anthonymalatka: This is a fragment, as there isn’t a verb in this second part of the sentence. Furthermore, as I mentioned previously you ought to use a “the” to indicate this is the same hypothetical problem being discussed.

In conclusion, Most individuals today have become subject to their emotions and this has caused them to engage in harmful behaviors such as buying new things every time they feel sad or lonely. The one thing that these individuals have failed to realize is how harmful emotional spending can be. Some methods that can be employed to deal with the emotional problem include: seeking help from a counselor, spending time with friends. These methods have proved beneficial in helping people overcome their emotional and personal problems rather than engaging in shopping sprees.