Cautionary Tales: Shopaholic Dies In Clothing Avalanche

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[Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic via Bluefly]

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.

If this has you worried, click over to All the Rage, where they have a handy "Are you a shopaholic?" quiz which you will almost certainly fail (we know we did.)
· Shopaholic spinster found dead under 3ft of unopened goods [Daily Mail]
· Shopaholic dies, buried beneath her purchases. Take this test to see if you're a compulsive shopper [All the Rage]