Hoarding

Most of us have some hoarding habits, but when taken to the extremes it verges on Obsessive Compulse Disorder. In extreme cases, hoarding can result in isolation as a consequece of the clutter that the person is embarred about, yet unable to clear

Hoarding is an attempt to hold onto External things or Power and it is actually an indicator of issues we have about Fear, Control, Holding onto the past and the Belief that if thrown away, something 'bad' may occur. It may feel that by holding onto things, our world will not Change and that makes us feel Safer

Issues in our lives that could have triggered this behaviour are -

1. Birthing difficulties

2. Abandoned or Neglected as Babies

3. Abused

4. Lack of Security - Having parents who may have suffered a lack - either by war or poverty, could have affected our sense of security. When things feel uncertain or if we are unsure about ouselves having "stuff" helps us retain a feeling of security. Just as 'stuffing' ourselves with food compensates for a lack of love

Different Types of Hoarders

1. Hoarding of Money is the most popular choice - the fear of a lack of security might trigger this

2. Hoarding of Sentimental items - such as old school reports, old love letters, baby blankets or just about anything that you can relate to an avent, place or person. We fear changing and afraid of letting go of the past,we hang onto items that represent it. In letting go, the hoarder fears that a part of themselves will be lost

3. Then there is the Hoarder who is Hyper-Responsible or Hyper-Caring. They believe that whatever they don't throw away, could be useful to another, so they hang onto all these items waiting for the needy person to appear. In reality, most of the things prove to be broken beyound repair or badly damaged and not worth fixing

4. Some Hoarders fear throwing magazines or newspapers away, because some vital article may also get lost. Rather than check everything, which is time-consuming, it becomes easier just to keep it. When you throw an object away, you no longer have control over what happens to it, consequently hoarding can be seen to be a desire to Control. This control may take the form of a Fear or Forgetting

5. Some other Hoarders specialize in making Collections of items, in order to achieve a deep sense of satisfaction when the collection is complete. However this sense of "completion" rarely, if ever occurs

Typical Symptoms of a Hoarder

*Purchasing large amounts of items to store for future use, but not possibly ever being able to use the amount of item of a particular type*

*Not throwing away useless or broken items*

*Keeping old newspapers & magazines often which may have never have been read*

*Not throwing anything away for fear that you may need it one day*

*Going to the dustbin and retrieving items others have discarded*

*Solutions*

Assisting hoarders to let go, may be difficult and require lots of patience and understanding. They need to be gradually encouraged to part with items. Rules and boundaries need to be established. The process of releasing may involve 4 options

*Throw it away*

*Recycle it*

*Give it away*

*Put it away*

info source:

Rennaissance Magazine Article

Encyclopedia of Body Mind Spirit earth -Joanna Cross