Do you often feel the urge of shopping without necessity? It is estimated that currently, around 5% of people worldwide are suffering from Buying Shopping Disorder (BSD) or compulsive buying disorder. People who are addicted to excessive shopping are called shopaholic. Due to the surge of social networking websites and e-commerce platforms, lucrative promotional advertisements are inciting people to buy things they need or do not need. The ongoing pandemic can be a great opportunity to deal with this BSD. In this article, we are going to discuss some basic concepts about shopping compulsion and ways how to stop online shopping addiction.

Why is Online Shopping So Popular?

Three key factors play a great role in creating an online shopping addiction. Those are:

- People who want to avoid social interaction and prefer buying anonymously.

- People who like a wide variety of collection.

- People who enjoy instant satisfaction.

How to Know If You Have an Online Shopping Addiction?

Key signs of compulsive online shopping disorder include:

- You are failing to control online shopping tendency even if when you really want to.

- Your shopping behavior is declining your savings and causing harm to relationships, and work.

- Your family members, partner, or friends are worried about your irrational money habits.

- You enjoy thinking or planning about shopping all the time.

- You get anxious, disappointed, or annoyed when you cannot shop online.

- Shopping online is the only thing that can make you feel better.

- The tendency of hiding purchased items from the fear of getting criticized for overspending.

- Feeling post-shopping guiltiness or regret.

- Spending little time to enjoy other things that make you happy.

- Purchasing things beyond budget even if you do not actually need or planned to buy.

How to Curb Your Online Shopping Habit

• Panic Buying

Due to the pandemic situation, many people are stuck at home for several months. Physical meetings with friends and relatives are being discouraged for the sake of limiting the spread of the virus. Getting distracted from the normal pace of life, many people are facing diverse psychological and emotional problems, like panic buying.

Besides flocking to the supermarkets, people are shopping from e-commerce websites to hoard a bulk amount of grocery items and other products during the lockdown period. Some food items may get decomposed before consumption, which is a wastage of money and food during the COVID19 pandemic. To prevent such mishaps, you can prepare a grocery list considering your family size and necessity.

Read: Pandemic Grocery List: Is Your Home Ready for Coronavirus Home Quarantine?

• Identify Your Shopping Points

When you are trying to control your shopping affinity, it is quite essential to identify what provokes you for shopping. For instance, if you do excess shopping from any specific Facebook pages/groups or e-commerce website, then you need to block those pages or sites.

Besides this, you can unsubscribe promotional emails, and delete shopping apps from your Smartphone. Now you will no more get notifications from those online shopping points. Your shopping behavior can change if you can resist the temptation of returning to those pages or sites.

• Find Your Shopping Triggers

What on earth is pushing you towards excessive shopping tendency? Some people tend to shop as a result of chronic depression; because buying goods can give them temporary happiness. While some other people do online shopping to kill boredom. However, the reason may vary from person to person. If you can identify your shopping trigger, it would be easier to deal with.

• Find Your Own Entertainment

You can start a healthy habit like reading novels, gardening, watching movies, or any other creative hobby in order to divert your attention from online shopping. If you invest less time in browsing e-commerce websites or Facebook shopping pages, you will be less attracted to new items. It will not save your money but also improve your emotional health.

• Pay in Cash

Most of the people, who use credit cards for online shopping, tend to buy excess things which they do not actually need. To harness your shopping spree, you can opt for cash on delivery (COD) instead of paying through credit card.

• Track Your Spending

When you track where the money has been spent you can justify your own expenditure behavior. You can maintain an expenditure log for every month to compare the increase or decrease in your shopping trend. It will also remind you about the burden of expenditure or debt whenever you wish to buy anything you rarely need.

• Tidy Up Your Wardrobe

If you love to buy new clothes every month and hardly wear those, then try this technique. When you take an attempt to organize the clutter of your wardrobe, it will make you remember that you already have nice, stylish clothes. It will certainly make you feel contained about your possession and diminish your tendency to buy more. You can repeat this process several times a month to get a better result.

• Make Yourself Wait

The virtual world is always presenting money-spinning advertisements that bait people to buy things that they actually do not need. It is found that when people feel the urge of buying any product, the wish usually disappears within 24 to 72 hours. You can apply this trick! Before buying things make yourself wait for a while!

• Save for Real Life Necessity

The famous American business tycoon Warren Buffett says “Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.” You can choose a saving plan and deposit a considerable share of your earning to the bank every month. It will provide you long-term benefits like overcoming rainy days in job or business, sudden medical emergencies, securing the education of your kids, etc. You can spend the left amount to buy necessary things for you and your family. Then, you will hardly afford any extra money to shop for unnecessary things.

• Remind Yourself Big Dreams

Each of us may have a long-cherished desire – like visiting abroad or grabbing a car – which is yet to fulfill due to lack of money. Besides this, you can plan big goals for your life achieving a degree, or study abroad. Now you can start planning for these desires and goals, which really matters to your life! If you remind yourself about these plans, your spendthrift behavior will naturally reduce.

Read Grab Your Dream Car Today: Car Loan in Bangladesh.

• Ask for Help

Shopping addiction can lead to financial insecurity, family disagreement, debt, depression, anxiety, etc. So far we have discussed several ways to curb BSD or compulsive shopping addiction. However, if you still cannot control your shopping spree you can consult with a psychiatrist for counseling.

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Researchers in Canada say they are considering Cannabis as a potentially valuable tool to fight against COVID-19.

Researchers Olga and Igor Kovalchuck have reportedly been developing and testing a novel cannabis strain for years, except with the goal of creating a strain that helps to combat cancer and inflammation,

When the pandemic hit, the duo started to focus their efforts on how the strain might be used to help fight COVID-19.

The duo’s work was published in an April issue of the online medical journal Preprints, according to a Forbes report.

The study says similar to other respiratory pathogens, SARS-CoV2 is transmitted through respiratory droplets, with potential for aerosol and contact spread. It uses receptor-mediated entry into the human host via angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) that is expressed in lung tissue, as well as oral and nasal mucosa, kidney, testes, and the gastrointestinal tract.

“Modulation of ACE2 levels in these gateway tissues may prove a plausible strategy for decreasing disease susceptibility,” reads the study.

After looking at the research on cannabis and COVID by other scientists, they were able to determine that cannabis, a special strain in particular, could potentially block COVID-19 from entering a person’s body to begin with.

It is also possible that the strain could be used to prevent the virus from being able to propagate once it’s already entered someone’s system.

“Cannabis sativa, especially one high in the anti-inflammatory cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD), has been proposed to modulate gene expression and inflammation and harbour anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties,” the study said.

“Working under the Health Canada research license, we have developed over 800 new Cannabis sativa lines and extracts and hypothesized that high-CBD C. sativa extracts may be used to modulate ACE2 expression in COVID-19 target tissues.” 

Right now it’s still a theory rather than a confirmed fact; however, it offers some hope for the future. If they’re able to prove the idea, the next step would be to manufacture the successful strain into medical formations that could be used for prevention and treatment by the medical field, they said.

Also read: Thailand launches full-time clinics dispensing cannabis oil

 The couple also pointed out that not every strain of cannabis is going to impact you in the same way. While it’s possible that they will be able to find a strain that can help prevent or treat COVID-19, there are also strains that could potentially make it worse.

“While our most effective extracts require further large-scale validation, our study is crucial for the future analysis of the effects of medical cannabis on COVID-19. The extracts of our most successful and novel high CBD C. sativa lines, pending further investigation, may become a useful and safe addition to the treatment of COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy,” the study says.

“They can be used to develop easy-to-use preventative treatments in the form of mouthwash and throat gargle products for both clinical and at-home use. Such products ought to be tested for their potential to decrease viral entry via the oral mucosa. Given the current dire and rapidly evolving epidemiological situation, every possible therapeutic opportunity and avenue must be considered.”

Also read: Declare COVID-19 vaccines a global common good: Global leaders

Renowned English poet George Herbert said, “One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” Each good father is life-long guardian, mentor and friend of his children. Today 21 June, World Father’s day is being celebrated worldwide remembering the struggles and pains of each father in the race of upbringing his children. Do you have any unique plan to make this day truely exciting for your father? Read this article to get some of the best Father’s Day gift ideas which can make your father feel special this day.

Best Father’s day Gift Ideas

1. Favorite Books

Every person has unique taste in literature. If your father loves to read books, list out the names of his favorite writers. Surprise your old man with some latest or unread books of those writers.

You can also ask your dad whether he is looking for any special book. If you can collect that book from any online book stores or libraries, your father would certainly be surprised.

Read: Rich Dad Poor Dad– Worth Reading in Your Quarantine.

2. Latest Smartphone

Fathers often ignore to their own needs while fulfilling the wishes of his children.  They often seem to struggle with their age-old phone, but still don’t bother to buy a new one.

In fact, fathers can hardly manage time and wish for buying any latest gadget. In the father’s day, you can buy your dad an easy-to-operate latest Smartphone. It will make him happy and proud of you.

3. Favorite Dish

What if, you are a student and don’t have enough saving to buy an expensive gift for your loving father. You can still make him feel special on this day! Try to make some of his favorite dishes following special recipes in the way he likes most. A simple treat can give your old man heavenly bliss.

4. Handy Accessories

During the quarantine period, most of the people are facing anxieties. Find some handy accessories which your father can use while staying at home. For instance, a headphone may help him to enjoy videos, movies, etc from YouTube. You can also present him accessories he needed most, like an advanced shaving kit or new set of spectacles.

5. Creative Souvenir

During the COVID19 pandemic, it may not be possible for everyone visiting shops. Don’t worry! You can surprise your dad with homemade gifts. You can design and make souvenirs like a DIY father’s day Card adorned with some lovely quotes and drawings.

6. Collage of Family Photos

When children become adult, a father loves recalling the long gone childhood days of his kids. You can create a collage of family photos which will make your father remember the golden memories of the childhood days of his offspring. It will make him feel like a winner over his past struggles and well carried responsibilities.

7. Favorite Attire

Due to the pandemic situation, your father may be confined at home for several months. He may not get the chance for buying any new outfit even for the festivals. You can surprise him with a new shirt or shawl or the kind of attire he prefers most. It will certainly make your father feel special!

8. Meeting Old Friends

When your dad was at your age in those days there was neither Smartphone nor social media. Communication was not so easy. In the way of life, your dad might have got disconnected with some of his bosom friends whom he silently remembers. You can secretly connect with some of your dad’s lost friends and arrange a video meeting session. Reunion with old friends will certainly make him happy.

9. Health Check Up

When was the last time your father see a doctor? Talk with him and try to know whether he is experiencing any health issue. Consult with an experienced doctor and take your father for a health check up. It will not only make your old man happy, but also help him living a longer and healthier life!

10. Favorite Music Collection

Does your father have passion for music? May be he is a great fan of some traditional songs, old albums, or forgotten singers you have rarely heard about. Make a list of some of your dad’s favorite singers, albums, and song titles. Then try to collect those songs from online sources. Present him the collection of favorite songs. He would really love it!

Bottom Line

A father’s love for his children is boundless and eternal. A good father is a warrior who sacrifices his dreams and wishes to make his offspring happy. We should love and care our fathers every single day. But giving a nice gift on the ‘Father’s day’ can make each father feel special. Long Live Fathers!

Read: Coronavirus Home Quarantine: How to keep the Elderly People Engaged.

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June 8 is World Oceans Day!

The United Nations marks the day celebrating the role of the oceans in our everyday lives and inspiring action to protect the ocean and sustainably use marine resources.

Many countries also celebrate this special day since 1992, following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro that year.

This year, the theme of the day is, 'Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean'.

This year's theme is especially relevant in the lead-up to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development which will run from 2021 to 2030.

The Decade will strengthen international cooperation to develop the scientific research and innovative technologies that can connect ocean science with the needs of society.

"As we enter the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), it is indeed our responsibility to seize this moment. We must seize this moment, firstly, to learn more about these depths, which often remain largely unknown to us, and still hold many secrets that only we can reveal... secondly, to give free rein to imagination and innovation, which we need in order to confront this worrying situation,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Oceans Day.

“This is why we have made innovation the theme of the celebrations of this international day. We must also seize this moment to sound the alarm, perhaps more widely than we have done so far, because no technical solution can replace a widespread, personal understanding of the threats to the oceans, their mysteries and their beauty," said Audrey Azoulay.

World Oceans Day provides an opportunity to honor, help protect, and conserve the ocean.

Also read: World Environment Day today

The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008.
 
The International day supports the implementation of worldwide sustainable development goals, and fosters public interest in the management of the ocean and its resources.

Also read: WildTeam celebrates World Environment Day

Access to Information (a2i) programme recently awarded three cartoonists who attended a cartoon contest called ‘Fight Against Corona’ aiming to raise awareness about the virus.

Cartoon People, a group of creative cartoonists, arranged the contest with support from a2i, said a press release.

Mahatab Rashid will receive Tk 50,000, Rakeeb Razzak Tk 30,000 and Sayed Fida Hossain Tk 20,000.

A total of 787 awareness cartoons were submitted by more than 300 local and international participants since the competition was announced.

Ahsan Habib, cartoonist and editor of Unmad magazine, along with poet and journalist Anik Khan and writer and animated film production manager Wahid Ibn Reza were the juries for this cartoon competition.

Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy, founder of Cartoon People, said from the very beginning of coronavirus, we’ve been thinking about how cartoonists can be useful and work as a support.

Cartooning is a great medium to grab attention of the mass people, he said adding that the aim was to present the awareness messages through simple visuals for fellow citizens.

Personal Hygiene, Social distancing and myth busting were focused in the beginning.

Tanmoy also said that once HD Media, a2i came on board and announced the prize money the number of participation skyrocketed.

Altogether 154 final cartoons have been selected out of the 787 submissions to distribute for free and anyone can use these cartoons to raise awareness.

Anyone can download and use the cartoons from Google Drive for free--- https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WwuMv20zte6nNhsCdmF-7zl3rVRMShZ2

The top 154 awareness cartoons are also available on Facebook-- https://www.facebook.com/pg/CartoonPeopleOfficial/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2414859105472875