3 ms·

Most low to mid level hoarders I know come from a background of some form of scarcity. They usually grew up poor or were there during war or something like the

Most low to mid level hoarders I know come from a background of some form of scarcity. They usually grew up poor or were there during war or something like the great depression. Their paranoia that they need to cling to every item they come to own because they might need it and never be able to obtain(afford) it again is less crazy in that light. Less commonly I see people with unusually strong attachments to memories an item invokes, or a desire to treat an inherited item with religious reverence to honor the deceased. Upper-middle and above class people who were always able to buy whatever they needed/wanted rarely seem afflicted by hoarding.

Mezzie 3y ago
I'm someone who has had a great variety in my financial security and that will likely continue into the future. This has included great scarcity (my state's computer system errors have just lost me healthcare and food help for the foreseeable future and I will be living on free food for the next month+ which is going to suck). My tendencies towards keeping things definitely revolve around 'I can't get this again if I need it'. Especially since if I need something and reach out for it, I am likely to be shamed by society for 'not planning ahead'/'not making better decisions'/etc. The margin of error is so small at the lowest ends of society that making any permanent decision is costly. It is rational to avoid doing so.
- sumtechguy 3y ago
  My tendency is 'i may need it'. Even though logically I know 100% for sure I will never need it. I have been curbing my tendency by not buying things. I put it into digital hording. Which fortunately fits on a couple of HDs. Which reminds me I have more boxes of cloths from the late 80s to get rid of (hope I have the will to do it). What helped me one day was I was hording bottle caps that had points on them. I had put off cashing them in. Then I realized they were expired. I was able to throw the whole lot of them away. It was SO liberating. I was free of that junk. I was literally running around the house going "IM FREE". I have been very careful to only buy/take things that have a shelf or box to go into. I do not buy more shelves or boxes to put more junk in, and rule #1 nothing on the floor or tables. I think I got this from my mother. That house has many closets full of stuff that has not seen the light of day in decades. Floor to ceiling full. The rest of the house is okayish. But it is one disaster away from full on hoarding. the gp comment about the burden of it rings very true to me.
angst_ridden 3y ago
Yup. I know someone whose father was the son of refugees who lost everything and whose mother's family lost everything the Great Depression. By the time this person was born, both parents had good income, but they continue to live as if in poverty (extreme frugality, never replace anything if they can spend 10x more time/money to repair, dumpster diving, etc). The parents are low-level hoarders. The child is even more so. It seems born of the trauma and uncertainty.

Mezzie 3y ago

I'm someone who has had a great variety in my financial security and that will likely continue into the future. This has included great scarcity (my state's computer system errors have just lost me healthcare and food help for the foreseeable future and I will be living on free food for the next month+ which is going to suck). My tendencies towards keeping things definitely revolve around 'I can't get this again if I need it'. Especially since if I need something and reach out for it, I am likely to be shamed by society for 'not planning ahead'/'not making better decisions'/etc. The margin of error is so small at the lowest ends of society that making any permanent decision is costly. It is rational to avoid doing so.

sumtechguy 3y ago
My tendency is 'i may need it'. Even though logically I know 100% for sure I will never need it. I have been curbing my tendency by not buying things. I put it into digital hording. Which fortunately fits on a couple of HDs. Which reminds me I have more boxes of cloths from the late 80s to get rid of (hope I have the will to do it). What helped me one day was I was hording bottle caps that had points on them. I had put off cashing them in. Then I realized they were expired. I was able to throw the whole lot of them away. It was SO liberating. I was free of that junk. I was literally running around the house going "IM FREE". I have been very careful to only buy/take things that have a shelf or box to go into. I do not buy more shelves or boxes to put more junk in, and rule #1 nothing on the floor or tables. I think I got this from my mother. That house has many closets full of stuff that has not seen the light of day in decades. Floor to ceiling full. The rest of the house is okayish. But it is one disaster away from full on hoarding. the gp comment about the burden of it rings very true to me.

angst_ridden 3y ago

Yup. I know someone whose father was the son of refugees who lost everything and whose mother's family lost everything the Great Depression. By the time this person was born, both parents had good income, but they continue to live as if in poverty (extreme frugality, never replace anything if they can spend 10x more time/money to repair, dumpster diving, etc). The parents are low-level hoarders. The child is even more so. It seems born of the trauma and uncertainty.