General Ordering things online (avoidance???), good or bad - fear of crowds

[Never_falter2]

How do those of you, who have a fear of crowds or whose sufferer has a fear of crowds think about ordering things online. Do you think it is good or bad in the long run?

 

[digger]

For me it comes down to picking my battles.

Yep, a lot of it comes down to avoidance on my part, but I also regard it as self care at times. Put myself in a stressful situation that I don't actually need to be in when there's an alternative that involves less stress and might mean I have more reserves for dealing with other stuff? <<< usually feels like a no-brainer to me.

 

[Neverthesame]

I buy lots of stuff online, for a number of reasons.

1. I don't like the store or the part of town it's in.
2. A product I want may be cheaper to purchase and ship than it would be to get it at local store. Kevlar slash resistant gloves are one example.
3. The product I want may be a niche market item which is simply unavailable for purchase locally. My work boots are a prime example of that. It's almost impossible to find steel toed jungle boots anywhere, let alone southern Alberta. I managed to find a reputable company that sells high quality ones. They don't have a location in my city. As nice as they are, I'm not going to fly to Toronto for a pair of boots.
4. You ever try to fit furniture into a Volkswagen? ;)

Avoidance is only bad when it's detrimental to your physical or mental health. Avoiding an expense, ruined upholstery or a hernia is just good sense.

 

[Gs172003]

I hate shopping most of the time. I only go during slow times and certain types of stores. The rest I do online.

 

[Deleted member 29920]

its handy for sure the only thing i wonder about is if there will be no stores or hardly any at all in the future? then what happens if you need something desperately but it'll take days to be posted to you?

:confused:

 

[Deleted member 44579]

Hi @Never_falter... I think it's a trigger.... So for me I can't really be in huge crowds like a concert or something...

I don't think it's avoidance . Well in a way it is but I do this for safety. My safety.... And right now that's a good thing...

Take care...

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I'm not fond of crowds, either due to them marinating in artificial synthetic scents/food-like substance smells/noise/etc., but I try to greatly limit my online shopping in my efforts to support local small businesses as much as possible, and due to not wanting to revisit/trigger my old ways of impulsively buying things I didn't really need due to the convenience of it all and the thrill of saving a few bucks (glad I finally grew out of that), so I strategically plan my shopping adventures/tours as much as possible to avoid the busiest times, etc.

I make a game of it, of sorts, in my brain (by timing myself/making it like a treasure hunt/seeing how many smiles I can get returned to me/etc.) and use the personal interactions that must occur along the way as a form of lighthearted entertainment...otherwise it feels overwhelming and pretty f'n miserable. Some things just make more sense buying online, though, especially when I know there's no local option, so I'm glad it's available.

I even avoid the automated self-checkout aisles because, eventually, they'll be putting us humans out of a job, and that bugs me. Slaves to the machine is how it feels to me, and I fight that tooth and nail every chance I get based on my personal feelings about the state of the environment and things overall. (I say that as I type my response on one of my favorite machines used daily....lol...there's no escaping it)

 

[EveHarrington]

Good.

It saves me time and energy that I can use to do more important things

 

[Ahhlia]

I hear ya... I have social anxiety and hate crowds or being looked at. When I shop I avoid isles with certain amount of people are there. I buy lots of stuff online but clothes I am picky with. When I get something that is not fitted right I have problem returning items. Electronics and some food items I do buy online because it saves me hunting for them store over store.

I am challenging myself by going to church. Started recently. I figure it is a safe group of people to be around to regain trust. I do groceries ok sometimes I have a panic attack and l get my stuff checked out half through my shopping. Get home and realize I did not buy a few essentials because there were people around the items I need.

Sometimes I am more careful when I shop online because when I shop for other things be it Petco, Bath Bed & Beyond, clothing stores, Frys... I am so nervous at times that I do quick and impulsive buys to get out of the store if crowded.

 

[Sweetpea76]

I think online shopping is great for my vet. He gets to comfortably browse and pick out his own stuff. He cannot do that in a store. I don't think it causes him to avoid shopping in a store. He wouldnt go into certain stores even if there wasn't online shopping. He uses it more as a tool to adapt.

 

[grimalkin]

My sufferer has taken to ordering his groceries from a local store. He tells them online what he wants, they pick the order, he goes to pick them up, they load his car. On one hand, it's great for those days he's in pain. On the other? He knows it's a way for him to avoid the outside world. But, he also is refusing to use the service in town that delivers groceries too, so he's forced to at least leave the house. So I call it an overall win.

Considering I generally don't like shopping myself, and do a lot of my shopping online, I'm not one to talk. I tend to buy stuff that I'd have to get at a big box store online instead, and do my "fun" shopping in person - that is the small, speciality, local stores. And I hate malls, at least the big ones. Small strip malls that have local stores I don't mind. My town has a ton of artsy areas, so my "fun" shopping is pretty diverse.

And I agree on the furniture thing. I finally found a local, fairly reasonable furniture store that delivers. Otherwise, it's online, especially if they offer free delivery.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I love the convenience of online shopping but do frequent some buisiness shops and stores. I use on big mega store to get candles and medications only.

I love to food shopping and am really getting into food shopping but only do it a few times a month. I have turned going there into kind of an adventure exploring new foods.

But you cannot beat online shopping which I rarely do anymore. I save on gas too. I use to do a lot of online shopping. I like to stock up on things now.

I do feel bad about all of the stores going out of buisiness but mostly do not like some of the choices I have at a store because of either being too expensive or not having what I want.

I tend to avoid clothes shopping and have bought most of my clothes online and have quite the selection now.

But overall I choose a few stores to patronize and then use onling shopping for my hard to find specialty items.