Retail therapy.

[DTB]

I suffer a lot with depression. 
some of it is down to my life choices, so my bad, some of it is down to my illness and some the required medication. 
one of the things I do when I am down is buy music stuff. My credit card is in a constant state of being paid off. 
i don’t normally regret my purchases, and the stuff I have brings me imense happiness. I often say out loud I absolutely love music, probably more than I should and certainly more often than i say I love my wife!!

anyone else indulge in retail therapy?

 

I am currently looking at either an Atelier Z fretless or and Ibanez headless fretless to make the decision of not defretting my Yamaha seem like a better decision. 
i guess in a way i  am addicted to gear, and justify it any way I can. 
i am lucky my wife just encourages me, if want it and u can afford it just buy it and stop talking about it is what she says. Hence my credit card never really going down. 

[Lozz196]

I can understand this, if I have a bad day or am feeling down then looking at stuff I could potentially buy gives me a lift. I did find however that in the past when I did buy the items that actually receiving them didn’t boost my mood any further. 

[DTB]

Yes I can understand that, but then if it lives up to my expectations then it does. 

[jezzaboy]

Due to having damaged my knee before Xmas I haven`t returned to work after the holidays. So what have I been doing? Practicing the bass? Nah, I`ve been buying and selling bass guitars and related gear. My wife always says "if you can afford it just get it" so that`s what I have been doing. Like the op I seem to be addicted to buying and selling gear at the moment.

 

Luckily I`m going back to work next week so hopefully I will calm down on buying. Still looking for a nice Thunderbird though...

Edited Wednesday at 21:55 by jezzaboy

[Lozz196]

Looks like you need another week on that sick-note……

[Suburban Man]

This is a well-rehearsed condition, although your personal circumstances may make it more challenging. 
We do have the Gear Abstinence thread for those trying to kick the habit, or at least contain it - in a non-judgmental way of course 

[MacDaddy]

17 hours ago, DTB said:

anyone else indulge in retail therapy?

 

I could write lots about this, but I did once wonder if I had too much gear when I was contemplating buying another bass amp. But I came to the realisation that as I don't tend to spend my money on anything else, I'm not in debt, and I enjoy it, then buy the amp 😁

 

[chris_b]

I noticed they'd renamed a big store in town. When I told the wife she said, "They did that 4 years ago!" That's how often I go to the shops.

[BassTractor]

Yup.
After a life crisis, me burnt-out and heavily depressed, I bought at least one bass, amp, cab or multi-effects unit each month, for 36 months.
Desperate nights and a finger on a mouse button ...

Since, I've become a bit healthier, and am now more able to fight this. Not perfectly yet, but I'm slowly getting there.

[neepheid]

15 hours ago, jezzaboy said:

Still looking for a nice Thunderbird though...

 

Well, keep your beady eyes off of mine!

 

[jezzaboy]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

Well, keep your beady eyes off of mine!

 

I will meet you halfway? Come on you know you want too!! 

[Skybone]

I think everyone has that little element of music related retail therapy (or GAS as it's otherwise known). Especially when you frequent music related sites such as this.

 

You can also swap the term "music related" to any hobby or pastime really.

[Lfalex v1.1]

My last pain-free day was back in October. Unfortunately, this coincided with my being in one of those mighty mega-plex malls, and I got carried away with the thrill of it all, buying a Seiko Prospex Turtle.

Now, when I look at it, I'm reminded that the last day I felt decent was 5 months ago.

Perhaps retail therapy isn't for me...

Edited Saturday at 13:03 by Lfalex v1.1

[bass_dinger]

On 05/02/2026 at 11:09, chris_b said:

I noticed they'd renamed a big store in town. When I told the wife she said, "They did that 4 years ago!"

 

Was it Woolworths?

[Misdee]

On 04/02/2026 at 17:35, DTB said:

I suffer a lot with depression. 
some of it is down to my life choices, so my bad, some of it is down to my illness and some the required medication. 
one of the things I do when I am down is buy music stuff. My credit card is in a constant state of being paid off. 
i don’t normally regret my purchases, and the stuff I have brings me imense happiness. I often say out loud I absolutely love music, probably more than I should and certainly more often than i say I love my wife!!

anyone else indulge in retail therapy?

 

I am currently looking at either an Atelier Z fretless or and Ibanez headless fretless to make the decision of not defretting my Yamaha seem like a better decision. 
i guess in a way i  am addicted to gear, and justify it any way I can. 
i am lucky my wife just encourages me, if want it and u can afford it just buy it and stop talking about it is what she says. Hence my credit card never really going down. 

 That sounds like it could be a very expensive habit. I suppose it could be worse, though. At least you haven't discovered Alembic basses yet. If spending money on music gear helps you deal with depression then I won't criticise you for doing it.

 

However, I can pretty much guarantee that sooner or later it will do you more harm than good because of the strain lack of money and debt problems put on relationships.

 

Also, buying stuff as a pick-me-up won't keep working forever. The novelty wears off. What then? If you're looking for happiness in material things you will always end up disappointed.

 

It's easier said than done, I know, but it's better to seek help for the root cause of the problem than just treat the symptoms yourself, otherwise you're just storing up trouble. If chronic illness and medication are partly causing the depression, that might be able to be addressed by a specialist.

 

Don't be frightened to ask for help. Depression is an illness, nothing more and nothing less, and there's lots of different approaches to treating it. Even if past interventions have failed, there's always another way to try. Sooner or later you will find something that works well for you. Then you will be able to enjoy music gear even more and everything else in life, for that matter.

Edited Sunday at 01:29 by Misdee

[DTB]

Yes very wise words. 
 

However, knowing the gear I have out in my little studio means even on the days I have too much pain to get out of bed, I know for example I have the best strat style guitar I have ever played and a 0.5watt point to point hand wired amp and 8 inch hemp speaker in a cab I made myself, means I CAN get the best SRV guitar tone I have ever heard reproduced by anyone that isn’t SRV himself and it’s not gonna blow your eardrums inside out. I not boasting, I just saying that years of trawling through gear had led me to my holy grail of guitar tone and when I am ill, as I have been for the last week or so with a flare up of this stupid illness, I can think of my gear waiting for me and it makes me happy, so far from a fleeting impulse of happiness it is long lasting. I should have given a bass example but a lot of guitarists that are into SRV say it’s impossible to recreate his tone but it isn’t. Took me about 3 years of buying and selling stuff to find the right combination and also playing technique, and I always made a loss when selling cabs and amps but it has kept me happy, at least it stopped me topping myself, which has gotta be money well spent 😁