有人曾经做过一个调查，大家在心情郁闷的时候都会做什么来调节情绪。“大吃一顿”或者“购物”是多数人的回答。其实，如果从心理学的角度来分析的话，估计这两种方式都算得上是某种心理疗法了吧。所以，才会有今天的这个词retail therapy(购物疗法)。
　　Retail therapy is shopping with the primary purpose of improving the buyer's mood or disposition. Often seen in people during periods of depression or transition, it is normally a short-lived habit. Items purchased during periods of retail therapy are sometimes referred to as "comfort buys"。

　　“购物疗法”指为了调整情绪或精神状态而进行的购物行为。这种情况多发于情绪沮丧或调整期，一般不会持续太长时间。这期间购买的物品有时被叫做“安慰购买品”。

　　Retail therapy was first used as a term in the 1980s with the first reference being this sentence in the Chicago Tribune of Christmas Eve 1986: "We've become a nation measuring out our lives in shopping bags and nursing our psychic ills through retail therapy."

　　“购物疗法”(retail therapy)这个词首次使用是在上世纪80年代，最先出现在1986年圣诞前夜出版的《芝加哥先驱报》上：“我们已经变成了一个用购物袋衡量生活质量，用购物疗法抚慰心灵创伤的国家。”