For years, I thought buying things was the same as self-care. A new bag after a hard week. Designer shoes because “I deserved them.” But beneath the glossy shopping bags and momentary highs, there was something else: stress. Credit card guilt. A creeping sense that I was working just to keep up with people whose lives weren’t even mine to live. Then one day, while standing in front of a mirror holding yet another “must-have” handbag, I asked myself: Who am I trying to impress? That single question unraveled a lot. What I learned was simple but not easy: being…