4 ms·

Couple of things. All it means being classified in the DSM is "now we can diagnose and bill for treatment." Another, many commenters here are saying "Hur de hu

Couple of things. All it means being classified in the DSM is "now we can diagnose and bill for treatment." Another, many commenters here are saying "Hur de hur, I have a lot of stuff, I'm such a hoarder." I have to think they have not experienced hoarding. My wife's mom is a hoarder. Literal trash fills her home and she navigates through unsafe tunnels of newspaper, disguarded food, broken things she has a pulled from dumpsters, and animal feces between her couch and the restroom. She gets distressed at the thought of removing any of it. She might do something with that broken or rotten thing one day, and not in the hack something together way. Collectors, reusers/repurposers, and keeping things that can be legitimately used again are not hoarders. If the DSM definition includes them, it is only due to overly broad definitions to make billing for treatment easier. Take the definition of ADD; nearly every kid can fall into that definition when doing a homework assignment they don't like.

Pigo 8y ago
I like watching Hoarders because it motivates me enough to get up and clean my room Peterson-style. Lingering and non-useful junk feel like tiny weights in my mind, so its a relief when it's gone. When you watch the show you always end up seeing a rush of fear in their face when people start removing their junk, like they have some sort of emotional attachment to the garbage. There's a stark contrast between these people and people who've just been lazy for awhile.
- SolaceQuantum 8y ago
  "... like they have some sort of emotional attachment to the garbage." They do. That's why they're hoarders. Everything they own represents a piece of their identity- their past (childhood memories, toys, etc), their present (current hobbies and interests), their future (belief that objects will be useful someday). Removing these objects is an attack on the person's identity- and calling it trash is calling their identity, hopes, and dreams trash. Severe hoarding is a serious mental illness.
germinalphrase 8y ago
I had an elderly neighbor that was a hoarder. We knew because of the rats (which were otherwise largely absent from that town). One day she went into the hospital for a routine surgery and her kids showed up with a dumpster. They simply cleaned out the house, exterminated, and bought her new furniture. Hadn’t seen anything like it before.
- jacob019 8y ago
  how did she react?
  - germinalphrase 8y ago
    I don’t know. We didn’t see her around very much and didn’t ask her about it when we did. Seemed impolite to pry.
  - etrevino 8y ago
    My ex-wife was a hoarder and I threw some of her things away while she was in a mental hospital. Cue screaming, crying, and rage that persisted for years. To her mind I had irreparably damaged the relationship. I imagine the mother reacted the same way.
- reshie 8y ago
  i think with the elderely it can often be a different symptom.
Panino 8y ago
> Another, many commenters here are saying "Hur de hur, I have a lot of stuff, I'm such a hoarder." Yeah, it's like when a person spends a single night on a friend's couch, in between apartment rentals, eats a warm meal in a safe place with friends, and cheerily posts pics of their "homelessness" on socmed. One of my neighbors is a hoarder. He currently has 2 stationwagons parked in the street filled to the brim with garbage. (Only 2 because his daily driver, also filled to the brim with garbage, is gone at the moment.) He has a truck parked in the street with a huge specialized bed, with a volume probably equivalent to about 4 or 5 pickup truck beds, filled with garbage. He also has an orphaned trailer, parked in the street, filled with garbage. He can't park in the garage or driveway because they're both filled with garbage. The entire yard is piled high with garbage. To enter the "backyard" he has to climb about 12 feet over a mountain of garbage. I've seen him while standing at the summit. There are sharp things pointing in various ways, and a fall could be lethal. His "home" is the domestic equivalent of a superfund site. My favorite item in his collection is the old gas station pump near the plastic pony, and my favorite activity of his is when he burns plastic. When he dies it will cost more to remove all the garbage and toxic soil than the home is worth. I can only imagine that the inside is the unintended equivalent of a series of boobytraps, which are illegal. It would be very dangerous for a first responder to enter the structure to save him, if need be. I assume his bed is a nightmare.

Pigo 8y ago

I like watching Hoarders because it motivates me enough to get up and clean my room Peterson-style. Lingering and non-useful junk feel like tiny weights in my mind, so its a relief when it's gone. When you watch the show you always end up seeing a rush of fear in their face when people start removing their junk, like they have some sort of emotional attachment to the garbage. There's a stark contrast between these people and people who've just been lazy for awhile.

SolaceQuantum 8y ago
"... like they have some sort of emotional attachment to the garbage." They do. That's why they're hoarders. Everything they own represents a piece of their identity- their past (childhood memories, toys, etc), their present (current hobbies and interests), their future (belief that objects will be useful someday). Removing these objects is an attack on the person's identity- and calling it trash is calling their identity, hopes, and dreams trash. Severe hoarding is a serious mental illness.

germinalphrase 8y ago

I had an elderly neighbor that was a hoarder. We knew because of the rats (which were otherwise largely absent from that town). One day she went into the hospital for a routine surgery and her kids showed up with a dumpster. They simply cleaned out the house, exterminated, and bought her new furniture. Hadn’t seen anything like it before.

jacob019 8y ago
how did she react?
- germinalphrase 8y ago
  I don’t know. We didn’t see her around very much and didn’t ask her about it when we did. Seemed impolite to pry.
- etrevino 8y ago
  My ex-wife was a hoarder and I threw some of her things away while she was in a mental hospital. Cue screaming, crying, and rage that persisted for years. To her mind I had irreparably damaged the relationship. I imagine the mother reacted the same way.
reshie 8y ago
i think with the elderely it can often be a different symptom.

Panino 8y ago

> Another, many commenters here are saying "Hur de hur, I have a lot of stuff, I'm such a hoarder." Yeah, it's like when a person spends a single night on a friend's couch, in between apartment rentals, eats a warm meal in a safe place with friends, and cheerily posts pics of their "homelessness" on socmed. One of my neighbors is a hoarder. He currently has 2 stationwagons parked in the street filled to the brim with garbage. (Only 2 because his daily driver, also filled to the brim with garbage, is gone at the moment.) He has a truck parked in the street with a huge specialized bed, with a volume probably equivalent to about 4 or 5 pickup truck beds, filled with garbage. He also has an orphaned trailer, parked in the street, filled with garbage. He can't park in the garage or driveway because they're both filled with garbage. The entire yard is piled high with garbage. To enter the "backyard" he has to climb about 12 feet over a mountain of garbage. I've seen him while standing at the summit. There are sharp things pointing in various ways, and a fall could be lethal. His "home" is the domestic equivalent of a superfund site. My favorite item in his collection is the old gas station pump near the plastic pony, and my favorite activity of his is when he burns plastic. When he dies it will cost more to remove all the garbage and toxic soil than the home is worth. I can only imagine that the inside is the unintended equivalent of a series of boobytraps, which are illegal. It would be very dangerous for a first responder to enter the structure to save him, if need be. I assume his bed is a nightmare.