Hoarding Questions

If the definition of a hoarder is that they keep 'worthless junk', does Olga become a hoarder if she can't eat all of her cans of tuna before they go out of date, or perish in some other way?

I have tailoring stock that at one time I could make money from, but getting it ready for sale was time consuming. Now I have less time and energy, some of it has become worthless to me. Am I a hoarder because I haven't found the time and energy to get rid of the materials which have become worthless?

You also contradicted yourself saying that you used to hoard food, even though it wasn't worthless.

I'm not trying to be critical of you Fay, just trying to be critical of what 'hoarding' may mean.

You have focussed on worth of, and multiple items, but if someone has hundreds of cats they can't care for, they are only hoarding one thing The definition doesn't seem to necessitate the collection of multiple categories of items, either.

I think hoarding has degrees of severity and it's to do with mindset. I have two small boxes of dry store foods. I find it cheaper, more convenient and more nutritious to store some items, but there is an element of hoarding: I have an anxiety about going without food learned via my mother's WWII experiences in Germany and from my own experience of poverty.

Perhaps the definition of hoarding should centre around the harm caused to the self, or to others, not the amount, the number, or the financial worth. Perhaps the solution should centre around what the collecting symbolises for that person and whether it's functional, or detrimental.

I propose hoarding is the collection of items which in some way results in harm to the self, or others and that the behaviour is indicative of some transference of emotion and/or cognition.

This is true hoarding ~~~~~

What if someone hoards to feel good and so improves their quality of life, but it someone else thinks its a potential fire hazard with no actual fire and noone else at risk?

I think I must be a shoe hoarder

Jac,

What if someone hoards to feel good and so improves their quality of life, but it someone else thinks its a potential fire hazard with no actual fire and noone else at risk?


Hoarding to the degree shown in the video is a mental illness. People with a mental illness of that sort think they are hoarding to feel good but they think that because they have a mental illness.

Not being able to walk in your house without climbing over piles of stuff does not improve their quality of life.

If you watched some of the video you would see that people suffer with breathing problems for various reasons. They put themselves into debt from buying things they don't need but instead just want.

In one story a man's wife died because the rescue squad couldn't get a stretcher in the house to take her to the hospital because there wasn't a pathway to get to her.

You don't have to see a fire to be prepared for a fire.

Your video was unavailable in my country, Secret.

Aah, you're talking about quantity and value again, BD.

Hoarding is a mindset, a psychological function.

It may not take much in the way of resources at all.

BD,

When I talk about hoarding I should use the words extreme hoarding which is where I feel the mental disorder kicks in. I'm also not talking or judging the hoarder themselves only the fact that I could not live with one. The conditions in the video or the description of what BadlyDrawn said is exactly what terrifies me and that is what I'm blogging about. Everyone probably has some hoarding tendancies including myself.

I've also swung to the other side, I lost the sentimental value of almost everything. I gave birth to two sentimental kids, I used to be sentimental myself but somewhere along the line I have to give it or throw it away.

Thanks everyone