Question regarding Hoarding

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

If there is anyone around who is a hoarder or has experience with hoarders, could you please PM me?

I have question to ask.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

bump

 

[RadioNate]

i dated a guy in hs who's mom was a hoarder. i don't really know too much about it besides her situation and the stuff I've seen on Oprah about it but I can try if you want to PM.

 

[LadyyRedd]

I'm a self-admitted pack rat, but probably not to the point of hoarding. My best friend teases me and I've actually done some reading on the subject. Feel free to PM me and I'll see if I can help.

Kimya

 

[chrissyk]

My grandmother has some serious hoarding issues. I'm by no means an expert on this subject, though. Feel free to PM me if you want to...I'm not sure that I'll be much help, but I'll try. We haven't gotten my grandmother any help because #1 we didn't know how bad it was until recently and #2 she doesn't think that she has a problem.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

What is a hoarder?

 

[CookieGVB]

The last time I heard that word being used, it was on Animal Planet, in reference to people who have umpteen cats, dogs, etc., to the point that it's unsanitary.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

The last time I heard that word being used, it was on Animal Planet, in reference to people who have umpteen cats, dogs, etc., to the point that it's unsanitary.

Thanks. We had a woman like that around here not long ago. It was very sad.

 

[LadyyRedd]

No, it's someone who keeps an excessive amount of something(s) that the outside world would see as useless. They do it with the fear that one day they will need it and not have it.

Here are a few sites:

http://understanding_ocd.tripod.com/hoarding.html
http://understanding_ocd.tripod.com/hoarding1_why.html
http://www.beachpsych.com/pages/cc80.html

I have a couple of other more extensive ones that I can't find at my fingertips. If you'd like to see them, let me know and I'll find them and post them.

Kimya

 

[RadioNate]

it's not just animals, it can be anything. people who hoard have an unusual attachment to stuff that becomes debilitating.

In the case of animals they think they are rescuing or saving the animals when in reality they are doing more harm than good. These are people with 25...50...tons of animals. Many more than can be adequately cared for.

In the case of stuff they just can't get rid of anything. It's people with YEARS worth of newspapers which they started saving 'just in case' they needed the info in one of them. Hundreds turns to thousands and then the stuff becomes so overwhelming that they don't even know where to being to declutter.

In the case of my HS boyfriends mom she had boxes and boxes of stuff everywhere. You couldn't walk through the house, it was floor to ceiling. She bought everything imaginable off of infomertials because she thought she might need it someday. In her case when the pile of dished became too overwhelming to clean up she just bought more dishes.

Obviously this put their family into extreme debt.

Oprah has done of few shows on the disorder. I think this link will take you to some of the information

http://search.oprah.com:7782/search/search_results.jsp?querystring=hoarding&fromSearchPage=yes

 

[swilphil]

Here's a link from the Oprah show about compulsive hoarding:

www.instituteofliving.org/ADC/compulsive_hoarding.htm

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

My sister is a hoarder--she likes china, costumes (she's into theater), tons of books, and has 14 cats last I knew. Plus a dog, and currently is watching our mom's dog while Mom's hospitalized. Oh, and canned goods. She can't resist a bargain at the grocery or a yard sale. I love her dearly, but she has a problem. She's 39--I fear it will get worse with time.

Anyway, if you have questions, I'd be happy to try to help. Feel free to post or PM me. There was also an article in Sunday's Parade magazine on pack rats--I happened to be at my sister's and read parts out loud to her--DH said my DBIL's ears really perked up, but my sister thought I was kidding. Um, I'm pregnant and opted to sleep in a tent in your front yard due to the house smelling like animals--yeah, this is funny!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My husband's grandmother is a hoarder--she keeps EVERYTHING that has ever been given to her. Probably started off as something sweet....but man, I would just like to get in there and have a garage sale. So much stuff....it is "manic" stuffitis.

She evidently does suffer from some kind of depression--so I don't know if the two happen to be related.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

There is a website...squalor survivors...http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/index.shtml

Explains hoarding very well and has personal stories.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

One of my professional journals had an article on Compulsive Hoarding this month (website is not working or I'd copy it here).

Hoarding is associated with OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well as ICD - Impulse Compulsive Disorder. Often other comorbid conditions such as depression, psychosis, social phobia and dementia, are present as well. Hoarding is not listed in the DSM-IV but there are generally agreed upon features of the disorder:
- The hoarder seeks to aquire and fails to discard a large number of possessions that apear to be useless or of no value.
- The compulsive hoarder's living spaces are sufficiently cluttered to preclude the activity for which the spaces were designed (i.e. cooking, sleeping).
- The compulsive hoarding causes the person significant distress or impairment of functioning (if not for the person accumulating the clutter, then for those close to the person).
-The symptoms of compulsive hoarding can be summarized as problems with acquisition, trouble discarding, and accumulation of clutter.

This disorder seems to be more common in men, but animal hoarding occurs more often in women living a solitary existence. The elderly more often exhibit hoarding behaviors, particularly if dementia is present. One study found that 84% of people with compulsive hoarding reported that at least one first degree relative had also displayed hoarding behaviors. Brain patterns have been identified that are unique in compulsive hoaders.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy has shown the most success in treatment along with medications to treat comorbidities, though hoarding itself seems to be restistant to medications used to treat traditional OCD.

 

[LadyyRedd]

One of my professional journals had an article on Compulsive Hoarding this month (website is not working or I'd copy it here).

Which journal was it?

Kimya