Psychotherapists are saying that being addicted to online shopping should be recognised as a mental health condition.

Axar.az reports citing The Tab that researchers have apparently found direct links to how online shopping addiction affects someone’s mind and there are actual symptoms and characteristics of the disorder.

There is already a condition, called “buying-shopping disorder” (BSD) which has been around for years. However experts are claiming it is taking on a new meaning and the condition now affects around one in 20 people.

Dr Astrid Müller, a psychotherapist at Hannover Medical School in Germany, said: “It really is time to recognise BSD as separate mental health condition and to accumulate further knowledge about BSD on the Internet.”

Dr Müller and her colleagues underwent a study where they looked at evidence from 122 patients seeking help for their online shopping addictions. They found they had higher than usual rates of depression and anxiety.

The experts claim that the rise of online shopping and how easy it is to buy things within a click of a finger is giving a whole new meaning of what it is to be a shopaholic.