Hi. My name is Buffy and I am a grad student at CSUN in the Department of Speech Communicaiton. I was wondering if you know where I might find some resources about women, shopping, and depression, and how it's all tied together. Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give.

Per your request, I know that there are many books on the subject of women and depression--any bookstore or library search can point some of these out. As for the shopping element, I haven't seen anything, but I do believe that it exists. I remember a few months back one of those morning talk shows--I think Sally Jesse Raphael--had a panel of women all of whom had high credit card debt--to the tune of an average of $15,000. The one common characteristic among these women was depression. I don't know if they would admit to it, but it was clear to any viewer that they were in unhappy marriages, had unfullfilled childhoods and much more.

On another note--for whatever it is worth--I once heard Gloria Steinem say something to the effect of: "Women do two things to take control over their lives--one, they get men to fall in love with them and, two, they go shopping." For me personally, I know that shopping is a way out of depression--and a way to celebrate having finished something.

—Amy