Text nº 34 for translation and reflection: The civilian lives lost to Russia's war. 28 de febrero de 20222

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a  leer  un texto que nos va a dar otra oportunidad para reflexionar sobre la tiranía y sus terribles consecuencias: la pérdida de vidas humanas.

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla.  

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60547807

Ukraine war: The civilian lives lost to Russia's war

The number of civilians killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine is rising by the day. By Sunday, Ukraine's human rights commissioner put the number of civilian victims alone at 210, including several children.

A seven-year-old girl died in an attack on a kindergarten, there have been fatalities in the capital Kyiv, and 10 members of Ukraine's ethnic Greek community were killed when their villages came under fire in the south.

Alisa Hlans was one of six people who died when her kindergarten was hit on the second day of the Russian invasion on Friday in the small town of Okhtyrka, an hour's drive from Ukraine's north-east border. 

Alisa was three months away from her eighth birthday. She was fatally wounded and Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said she died in hospital on Saturday.

Doctors were fighting to save the life of a second wounded child, she added in a message on social media, above a picture with the message "we need peace!"

Several other children have been killed in the Russian advance, including a girl called Polina, who was in the final year of primary school in Kyiv.

According to Kyiv's local authority she and her parents were shot dead by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group on a street in the north-west of the capital.

Polina's brother and sister were taken to hospital. Her sister was in intensive care and her brother was taken to a separate children's hospital.

The majority of civilians have not yet been named but their stories are equally distressing.

A boy was killed when a block of flats was shelled in north-eastern Ukraine on the second day of Russia's invasion. The blast started fires in several flats in Chuhuiv, a small town outside Ukraine's second city Kharkiv.

Rest In Peace.

This video from the BBC World Service shows how a missile destroys a government building, flattened, annihilated.

Manuel Molina.

Text nº 33 for translation and reflection: Russia kills hundreds in Ukrania

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. 

El primer texto de hoy nos retrotrae al año 1939, cuando la Alemania de Hitler invadió Polonia y hoy, el dictador ruso Putin invade a gran escala Ucrania. Al igual que el 1 de septiembre de 1939, la gran pregunta es: ¿cómo acabará esto?

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla. 

https://theobjective.com/internacional/2022-02-24/directo-guerra-ucrania-rusia/

Russia Launches Heavy Attack Deep into Ukraine; Putin Warns World Not to Interfere 

Biden: “The world will hold Russia accountable.”

Russian forces began a large-scale invasion of Ukraine early on Thursday morning local time as Vladimir Putin announced in a pre-taped speech the start of a “special military operation,” instructed Ukrainians to lay down their arms, and warned other countries not to interfere. 

“Russia will respond immediately and you will have consequences that you never have had before in your history,” Putin said, as the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting in which leader after leader condemned the unprovoked attack. 

Loud explosions were heard in the background as journalists reported live from Kyiv. CNN, citing an “advisor to the Ukrainian interior ministry,” reported that the explosions were from Russian missile strikes. Reports poured in of Russian attacks elsewhere by land and sea, as well, including from Reutersand U.S. officials. Videos quickly began circulating on social media that purport to show explosions in Kharkiv.

“Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine," Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted at 10:58 p.m. Eastern time. "Peaceful Ukrainian cities are under strikes. This is a war of aggression. Ukraine will defend itself and will win. The world can and must stop Putin. The time to act is now.”

Ukraine’s interior ministry says casualties from initial missile strikes are “in the hundreds,” CNN’s Matthew Chance reported around 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. 

About quarter to midnight Eastern time, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “Russian troops are carrying out strikes on peaceful Ukrainian cities from various directions, including from the side of the temporarily occupied Donbass and Crimea, as well as the northeastern region. This is an act of war, an attack on sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a gross violation of the UN Statute and the fundamental norms and principles of international law.

President Joe Biden said in a statement, “The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.””

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/02/russia-launches-heavy-attack-deep-ukraine-deep-ukraine-putin-warns-world-not-interfere/362368/

Saludos.

Text nº 32 for translation: A little bit of History today, 23rd of February...1981.

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. 

El 4º texto de hoy nos retrotrae al año 1981, cuando al salir del colegio, una tarde tranquila, de repente nos mandaron correr hacia las casas...

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla. 

https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20210223/6258374/23-f-golpe-estado-congreso-cronologia-reconstruccion-40-aniversario-en-directo.html

23-F: Coup d'Etat in Spain

Background

From 1939, the end of the Spanish Civil War, Spain lived under Franco's military dictatorship until his death in November 1975. Before he died he designated Prince Juan Carlos as his successor and, to the surprise of many, after becoming king, Juan Carlos I dismantled Franco's regime and began the transition to democracy, a period known in Spain as La Transición. Some say that La Transición ended with the first general election in 1977, others when the constitution was approved in 1978, and yet others argue that it definitively ended 23 February 1981, the date of the failed coup d'État led by Lieutenant-Colonel Tejero. 23 February 1981 was a dramatic and tense moment in modern Spanish history and is popularly known in Spain as 23-F. On the same day as the coup, a vote was in progress to confirm Calvo Sotelo as Prime Minister. The vote was being recorded for television, and this is the footage we see in the beginning of the video below.

Shortly after the assault on Parliament another military leader, Jaime Milans del Bosch, led men and tanks into the streets of Valencia. King Juan Carlos I is widely considered to have been responsible for the failure of these actions. Wearing his military uniform of Captain-General of the Armed Forces, he went on television early in the morning of 24 February and declared his support for the democratically-elected government. With this, the insurgents, who had counted on the support of the king, knew that their action had failed. Some of the consequences of this failed coup were to give the young constitutional monarchy renewed legitimacy and in particular increased support for the King. This included not just public support, but support from political parties across the spectrum including the Communist party. https://spanish.kwiziq.com/learn/reading/23-f-coup-d-etat-in-spain

Me acuerdo que las calle se vaciaron y no nos dejaron jugar a la pelota en la plaza de la Catedral. 

Saludos.

Text nº 31 for reflection and translation. WAR. 23 de febrero de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. Ahora toca leer un poco sobre qué está pasando con la canalla, miserable y genocida invasión rusa de Ucrania. 

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589

Why is Russia ordering troops into Ukraine and what does Putin want?

By Paul Kirby
BBC News

For months Russia's Vladimir Putin denied planning to attack Ukraine, but he has now torn up a peace deal and ordered troops into two rebel-held eastern regions, in his words to "maintain peace".

Russia has deployed at least 150,000 troops near Ukraine's borders in recent months, and there are fears that its latest move marks the first step in a new invasion. What happens next could jeopardise Europe's entire security structure.

Where are Russian troops being sent and why?

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, rebels backed by President Putin seized big swathes of the east and they have fought Ukraine's army ever since. There was an international Minsk peace accord but the conflict continues and so Russia's leader says he is sending in so-called peacekeepers into two rebel-held areas.

The West sees that as nonsense and believes Moscow is planning an imminent, new invasion of Ukraine, a country of 44 million people bordering both Russia and the European Union. For a start, there are reports of tanks arriving in separatist-controlled Donetsk and the latest satellite photos show Russian troops deployed within 9 to 19 miles (15-30km) of Ukraine's borders.

What's Putin's problem with Ukraine?

Russia has long resisted Ukraine's move towards European institutions, both Nato and the EU. Now, Mr Putin has claimed Ukraine is a puppet of the West and was never a proper state anyway.

How far will Russia go?

President Putin may stop at tearing up the peace accords in the east. He has in the past only spoken of "military-technical" measures if he does not get what he wants and Moscow previously insisted "there is no Russian invasion".

But the chances of a diplomatic solution do not look good and the West fears he will go further. US President Joe Biden has warned: "We believe they will target Ukraine's capital Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people." 

In theory, Russian forces could aim to sweep across Ukraine from the east, north and south and try to remove its democratically elected government. They could mobilise troops in Crimea, Belarus and around Ukraine's eastern borders.

¡Que Dios nos pille confesados, como decían las abuelas!

Saludos.

Text nº 30 for translation: SCIENCE AND DREAMS. 23 de febrero de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. De nuevo, son materiales que están incluidos en el programa de vuestro curso de la página CREA de la Junta de Andalucía. El segundo de hoy versa sobre el sueño y la ciencia, ¡no os durmáis!

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla. 

mmolpor@

SCIENCE AND DREAMS

Japanese scientists say they have found a way to "read" people's dreams. Researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for what they say is, "the world's first decoding" of night-time visions. Their research is published in the journal "Science". The researchers wrote: "Visual imagery during sleep has been a topic of persistent speculation, but its private nature has been a disadvantage for objective analysis. Here, we present a neural decoding approach in which machine models predict the contents of visual imagery during sleep." They could predict what images their volunteers had seen with a 60 per cent accuracy rate.

The research is a part of a wider programme aimed at studying the brain. It hopes to unlock the secrets of the unconscious mind to help the disabled move artificial limbs using brain activity. It could also help those with dementia and other neurological conditions. A spokesperson said: "Our expectations from the dream study are quite high, but we are also looking carefully at the ethical aspects of the technology, which may allow a third person to look at somebody else's thoughts." Head researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani said, "dreams have fascinated people since ancient times, but their function and meaning has remained closed". He believes his research is "a key step towards reading dreams more precisely".

 Texto tomado y adaptado de www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1304/130408-dreams.html#ixzz2WjytN3oc

Saludos. 

Text for translation nº 29: Hamburgers. 23 de febrero de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. De nuevo, son materiales que están incluidos en el programa de vuestro curso de la página CREA de la Junta de Andalucía. El primero de hoy vuelve al tema de la comida basura que tantos estragos está causando en nuestras sociedades 'modernas'.'

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla. 

mmolpor@

NO STOPPING AFTER EATING 25.000 BIG MACS

-nine years after his first Big Mac, Don Gorske has entered the record books by finishing his 25,000th Big Mac. He passed the milestone at a McDonald'srestaurant in his hometown in Wisconsin. "I plan on eating Big Macs until I die," said the 57-year-old. "I have no intention of changing. It's still my favourite food. Nothing has changed in 39 years. I look forward to it every day."

 

Gorske's obsession with the burger started on 17^th May 1972 when he bought three Big Macs to celebrate the purchase of a new car. He says he enjoyed them so much that he went back to McDonald's twice the same day, and ate nine burgers. He has only gone eight days without a Big Mac since his first bite. Despite his diet Gorske`s doctor has described him as a healthy man and he takes regular exercise. However, he admitted an obsessive compulsive personality, saying that he liked to collect the packaging and enjoyed counting his Big Macs because of a love of numbers.  

 

McDonald's says there are 540 calories in a Big Mac, which is more than a quarter of the calories a person on an average diet would consume. The burger also contains 29 g. of fat and 1,040 mg of sodium, which are both more than 40% of the daily recommended amount. Medical experts do not recommend the Gorske diet. Tara Gidus, a dietitian, said Gorske probably has good genetics, as well as the fact that he didn't order fries and soft drinks with his burger. She said she is "less concerned about the bad stuff in the Big Mac and more concerned about the good stuff he's missing", such as fruit and vegetables. Before tucking into his 25,000^th burger Gorske said: "I really do enjoy every Big Mac."

 Saludos.

Calendario de pruebas de acceso y admisión a la Universidad. 16 de febrero de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Nos confirman desde la Universidad de Jaén el calendario oficial de las pruebas de este curso 2021/2022, tercer año covid.

FECHAS DE LA CONVOCATORIA ORDINARIA:

14 de junio: martes

15 de junio: miércoles

16 de junio: jueves

FECHAS DE LA CONVOCATORIA EXTRAORDINARIA:

12 de julio, martes.

13 de julio, miércoles.

14 de julio, jueves.

Saludos.

Grammar: Corrección de un ejercicio de condicionales tipo 2. El GRITO de Munch. 16 febrero de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

A petición del pueblo, ustedes, explico detenidamente un ejercicio del bloque 3.1 de los contenidos del programa de CREA de la Junta de Andalucía que está dando problemas, pero no de gramática, porque ustedes de tontos no tienen ni un pelo, sino de comprensión por culpa del que diseña esto.

Y es un placer hacerlo.

https://hipertextual.com/2021/02/grito-munch

Pues ese grito es de cualquiera de vosotros que se enfrenta todos los días a enunciados y tareas absurdas como estas aunque le ponga toda la voluntad del mundo. 

El problema estriba en que todavía hay quien usa unos enunciados en los ejercicios que no entienden ni los propios ingleses, con lo sencillo que es hacer las cosas más fáciles. 

Hablamos de 'oraciones condicionales', algo que solo entienden normalmente los lingüistas y aquellos de vosotros que sufrís nuestras soporíferas clases. 

Hablamos de 'combinar oraciones de relativo non-defining', así, como el que compra pipas sin sal en un puesto en la plaza del pueblo, como si no pasara nada, y lo normal es que excepto un avezado especialista en el tema, lo demás digáis, y con razón 'váyase a la porra'. 

Os complicamos la vida, y si a aprender a distancia, trabajando, con el covid acechando, los ERES, ERTES y la vida misma, le añades estos enunciados, lo normal es que muchos acabéis pensando -erróneamente- que esto no es para vosotros. 

Somos nosotros los que os complicamos la vida. Por mi parte, os pido disculpas, pero yo soy una simple hormiguita que no va a cambiar nada.

Y todo este rollo es para haceros ver que un muchas, muchas, muchísimas ocasiones, somos nosotros los que hacemos las cosas imposibles. 

'Oraciones non-defining', vamos, en fin. Y, ¿por qué no la junta de la trócola, como dijo el sabio?

                                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh4ddHL94MM

Así que vamos a solucionar esto: empecemos por lo de oraciones condicionales del tipo II. Como sabéis, desde que nos levantamos hasta que nos acostamos, vamos pensando en el precio del butano y en las condicionales del tipo II. Faltaría más.

Os ponen -y yo caí en la trampa- este ejercicio en CREA:

Claro, rápidamente, cualquier mortal empieza a procesar: 'ya sé, el verbo en la oración subordinada tras 'if' se pone en pasado simple y luego, en la proposición principal usaremos el verbo modal -would- o bien su primo hermano -could- o venga, a veces -might- o... y luego, tras esos verbos, el verbo que vamos a usar lo pondremos en infinitivo, y no se te ocurra poner una -s en la tercera persona que como se enteren los de las escuelas de idiomas te mandan al frente ruso en calzoncillos de mercadillo'.

No sé, se me ocurre, ¿no sería más fácil poner las frases en cristiano o en vikingo para traducirlas? Vosotros me diréis. 

Otro tema es la relevancia de los ejemplos, realmente interesantes.

En el maravilloso enunciado os piden que hagáis frases del tipo 2, las que usamos para expresar no que algo pasará, sino que algo podría pasar, como en 'yo tendría más pelo si no fuera tan calvo', por ejemplo.

Por ello, en vez de usar 'will' tendréis que usar 'would' o a veces 'could' or 'might' y los demás verbos en pasado. 

Mira:

1. If we HAD a yacht, we WOULD sail in the summer.

Si tuviéramos un yate, navegaríamos en verano. 

Pero 'semos probes', ya sabes.

2. If he HAD more time, he WOULD learn languages.

Si el tuviese más tiempo, aprendería idiomas. Pero angélico, no tiene.

3. If they TOLD Mary, she WOULD BE very angry.

Si se lo dijeran a Mary, se enfadaría mucho. Mejor no decirle nada.

4. She WOULD SPEND a year in the USA if she FOUND a good job.

Ella pasaría un año en los USA si encontrara un buen trabajo. Pero ne creo que sea el mejor momento de ir allí, Ukrania...

5. If I LIVED on a lonely island, I WOULD MISS my family so much.

Si yo viviera en una isla solitaria, echaría de menos a mi familia. Este de qué va, ¿de eremita?

6. We WOULD HELP you if we KNEW how.

Te ayudaríamos si supiéramos cómo. Típica frase que presagia una desgracia y es mejor no decir.

7. My brother WOULD BUY a big house if he HAD the money.

Mi hermano se compraría una casa muy grande si tuviera dinero. ¿Y tú no, alma de cántaro?

8. If I FELT better, I WOULD GO to the cinema with you.

Si me sintiera mejor, iría al cine contigo. Llévala a un buen restaurante, so rácano.

9. If you WENT to the gym, you WOULD NOT BE so weak.

Pero tendrías agujetas como las mías.

Si fueras a un gimnasio, no estarías tan débil/flojo/canijo/enclenque, vamos, un churro de tío.

10. She WOULD NOT TALK to you if she WAS/WERE (se pueden usar los dos en este tipo de oraciones) angry.

No te hablaría si estuviera enfadada contigo. (Mejor que emigres...)

Y mañana revisaremos otro grito: las oraciones de relativo defining y non-defining.

En fin.

Saludos.

Text for translation nº 28: Leading a healthy life. 16 de febrero de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. De nuevo, son materiales que están incluidos en el programa de vuestro curso de la página CREA de la Junta de Andalucía. El cuarto y último de hoy versa sobre la comida basura que tantos estragos está causando en nuestras sociedades 'modernas'.'

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla.  

@mmolpor

Leading a healthy life: Fast Food

When people all over the world are looking for a quick, easy meal to grab on the go, fast food is the common solution. In fact, over 25 percent of Americans consume fast food every day. 

Fast food does not have to be unhealthy, but most of the time it is; consumers often order foods with more fat, calories, sugar and sodium, and less nutrition and vitamins than is necessary. Keep reading to find out some more about what makes fast food so common in America and how to pick healthier options.     

There are close to 50,000 fast food chains across the United States, with McDonalds being the largest restaurant chain. In the world, there are more than 500,000 fast food places. Kids between the ages of 6 and 14 eat fast food 157,000,000 times every month. Ninety-six percent of kids in school could recognize an image of Ronald McDonald, the face of McDonalds. The only recognizable figure that ranked higher was Santa Claus. 

Most people don't consider fast food as their healthiest option. While there are some ways to eat a well-balanced, nutritious meal at a fast food restaurant, the unhealthy options are more common and more appealing. Often, someone can consume all of the calories they need for the entire day in one sitting at a fast food restaurant. 

The most common vegetable served at fast food places is the potato in the form of French fries. There is no problem with eating fast food occasionally, but if you are eating it more than once a week, consider ordering some healthier options that are more nutritional. 

Many foods are considered unhealthy if you eat too much of them—even healthy foods. Keep this in mind when ordering fast food.

Saludos.

Text for translation nº 27: Shopaholism. 16 de febrero de 2022.

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep #ingléspagsypau (en Twitter).

 Hoy vamos a trabajar varios textos muy breves y bastante más sencillos. De nuevo, son materiales que están incluidos en el programa de vuestro curso de la página CREA de la Junta de Andalucía. El tercero trata sobre el problema del consumismo desenfrenado y la adicción a las compras.

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla. 

Shopaholism

Shopaholism, also commonly referred to as compulsive shopping or shopping addiction is basically characterized by an uncontrollable desire to make purchases when there is really no need for the same. Oniomania is the technical term used to describe shopaholism. While some health experts believe that compulsive shopping is an impulse control disorder, others claim that it is an indication of obsessive compulsive disorder or bipolar disorder. Of late, it has also been accepted as a type of addiction, because like in the case of any other addiction, the individual lacks control over his impulses.

Plastic money or the credit card is the main cause for worsening this mental condition. Shopaholics run their credits up to the maximum limit without thinking whether they will be able to pay off for such huge expenses. Initially, they feel happy; but later, just like any other addictive behavior such as alcoholism, tobacco smoking, drug abuse, gambling, or binge eating, they begin to experience a sense of guilt as they feel that they have just done something wrong. Many people, especially women and teenagers, shop for pleasure when they are in low spirits.

This addiction ultimately leads to financial losses, which not only affect the person concerned but also his or her near and dear ones. The strained relationships caused by this mental disorder can even break homes. The exact cause of such addictive behavior is not known; but according to some psychiatrists, such actions can be triggered by a need to feel special. Shopaholics try to fill in a void in their lives with objects. The act of shopping gives the compulsive shopper a high due to the release of certain ‘feel good’ hormones.

There is no customary or foolproof treatment option that can help to get rid of this problem immediately. The individual should first of all accept that he has a problem and should therefore take the help of his family and friends, without feeling ashamed. If the condition gets worse, Medical help must be sought. Undergoing professional counseling or joining a self-help group is often useful in trying to deal with this problem. The condition usually does not require any medication unless it is too severe or there are other associated distressing symptoms.

Texto adaptado de www.healthizen.com

Saludos, familia IPEP.