Anyone else feel overwhelmed and anxious when shopping in big centres?

[Starsaff]

I was off today and had to go to a local shopping centre to get a voucher for a birthday gift from a particular shop. I'm not often in the shopping centre and going round the shops to browse isn't a past time of mine.

However when I was there today I did pop into some of the new big beauty stores just to have a look and I also had a look in the window of some of the clothing shops I like and in the shop where I was getting the voucher.

I realised that shopping gives me a kind of anxiety. I just feel overwhelmed and stuck somewhere between desire and revulsion, there is just too much choice and its all so expensive. I wasn't there to spend on myself so my mind was just looking at all the pretty things with little discernment and on one level it felt like I wanted it all but when I smelled a cult perfume in one of the shops I'd seen online often and I though sounded nice it was very underwhelming and it cost £100 for a tiny bottle so I know that if I was actually looking to buy I'd be much more critical and see past the surface allure of all that "stuff". I feel that way at Christmas too when I have to hit the shops for gifts and I kind of hate it.

Anyway I got what I needed to and got out! Anyone else relate to this kind of feeling when shopping?

I think I know what you mean. There’s definitely an excess of choice and it stresses me out sometimes, I can end up not knowing what to buy or even whether to buy anything at all.

I know that feeling I also feel floaty and disassociated in large shops, I did assume it was the bright light but I feel you’ve described a kind of weird sadness. It’s never been a place I go if I can avoid it I’m just not a shopper kind of person.

I don’t like large crowds and get a bit panicky. I haven’t always been like that, it’s just as I’ve got older.

I feel that way at Christmas too when I have to hit the shops for gifts and I kind of hate it.

This isn’t something I’ve experienced - but given the reasonable amount of time available can you not do your Christmas shopping online? (I like shopping generally but don’t love Christmas crowds. And I do all my clothes buying on the internet all year round because there’s infinitely better choice.)

I ask the same too op. It’s the choice and things everywhere that is overwhelming.

I have a tedious bar. At first I like the shop but then suddenly I will find it all tedious and tiring. It comes on suddenly but once it's there I know there is no rescuing the outing. It's best to leave.

I feel that because I can find many things online a lot easier and quicker than shopping ( not food shopping as I quite like that ) it becomes frustrating having to go out to find things in a busy store. Online shopping has its many faults , but it is easier to source things at a glance. I didn’t like shopping anyway though , but don’t mind a big supermarket for a browse.

I find shopping centres very airless and they give me a headache. I much prefer shopping in places where you come out into the fresh air in-between shops.

I absolutely hate crowds, but coming from Central London, you have a strange way of mentally detaching from crowds of people.

I fully believe that if I had come from a smaller place, I'd really struggle, because I can be quite anxious and introvert. But coming from West London where it was always packed (at least from the 2000s onwards) you naturally learn to deal with it. e.g. Times Square didn't phase me at all!

Most big stores are closed in warehouses arnt they. I am not sure why I prefer supermarkets to indoor malls though.
My high street has lost a lot of decent shops , so it’s not worth the time and effort and cost of the bus or parking fees to go along most of the time.

I’ve always disliked being in crowds and getting bumped around. I also now finding shopping overwhelming because of the amount of choice.

There's a name for the lost , overwhelmed feeling some of us get in shopping centres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruen_transfer
Apparently it's designed in and made to make us spend more- although it just makes me avoud shopping centres!

I mostly do it online if I can but sometimes a trip to the shops is unavoidable such as if my Mum says she wants jewellery but doesn't know exactly what she wants I need to go out and look at stuff.

I lived in London for a while and was probably more hardened to it at that point but I suppose I have a nice life in a semi rural location now so have lost my tolerance! I probably do find it slightly easier if I'm with a friend and we're chatting as I am then distracted from the weirdness of the "mall".

Wow, thanks I appreciate that info, I will need to read more about that. I am sure that sense of anxiety and weirdness if provoked by the design and just the sheer amount of stuff! I wonder if other people actively enjoy it and sort of drift along on it whereas others feel more anxious and sick. Either way I am sure in both cases it is successful in prompting people to buy more than they planned to!

I think it is just best to avoid the shops most of the time. I also think supermarkets are different in that we all need to eat and perhaps we have a better sense of what we might actually use and a jar of fancy harissa isn't as pricey as a jar of face cream and so it's less of a risk to try.