Download Compulsive Hoarding

RUNNING HEAD: GARBAGE IS GOLD
Garbage Is Gold: The Lack of Awareness of
Compulsive Hoarding
By Carine Chan
Place Cartier Adult Education Centre
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Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD
Outline
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Introduction
Thesis: Due to popular television shows such as “Hoarders”, compulsive hoarding has become a hot topic issue in today’s society. However,
compulsive hoarding is still largely misunderstood by general public.
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1st Main Point: Hoarder’s lifestyle
A) Typical life of a hoarder
B) Reasons why people hoard
C) Consequences & social influence
2nd Main Point: Psychological Factors
A) Signs & symptoms
B) A hoarder & a collector
C) Medical condition
3rd Main Point: Biological Factors
A) Behaviour
B) Types of animals
C) Differences & similarities to human hoarding
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Conclusion
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Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD
Abstract
“One person's trash is another person's treasure," or so the old saying goes.
However for certain individuals, it is nearly impossible for them to distinguish the
difference between trash and treasure. This problem is a prominent and
complex mental disorder that has recently gotten a lot of attention in today’s
media. It is featured in popular television series such as “Hoarders” or
“Hoarding: Buried Alive”. This condition is called compulsive hoarding and it
usually begins early in life during teen years, but doesn’t become severe until
adulthood. These individuals find it difficult to get rid of items that would
usually be considered useless or invaluable. They keep accumulating more and
more items without even noticing until their home is completely cluttered and
even restricts them from basic everyday activities. Compulsive hoarding can
lead to not only major health risks but also social and family problems. Despite
the recent media coverage on hoarders, it is still considered a hidden disorder.
Raising awareness and educating the general public on hoarding is essential to
help the hundreds of hoarders suffering around the world.
Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD
Keys Facts
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Mental Disorder
Clutter
Animal behaviour
Depression
Anxiety & stress
Emotional attachment
Indecisiveness
Traumatic loss
Hidden illness
Survival mechanism
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Significance
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Historical
Hoarding has been a hidden condition for years. Traditionally, it has been classified as an early
symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However over the last decade, many
researches have been made and interest in this illness has increased dramatically.
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Social & Cultural
This psychological condition has recently been shown in television series, online sources and websites,
and books. All of this media coverage has raised a great amount of awareness about hoarding
among the general public. As a result, more hoarders feel like they are not the only ones
fighting this mental health problem. They are also now more comfortable with their hoarding
tendencies and are not ashamed to seek out for professional help.
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Scientific
Compulsive hoarding can now be considered as its own complex and serious illness. A few
treatments have been discovered but due to its recent recognition, there is no straightforward and
simple solution. Research into the causes and effective treatments for hoarding are still being made.
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1st Main Point: Hoarder’s lifestyle
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Most hoarders are unaware of the severity of their hoarding
problem and will not notice the symptoms until it is too late.
Some will even live alone in their cluttered home and will
continue going unrecognized for numerous years. It is
eventually the concern of the person’s family or friends who
take the initiation and seeks out for professional help. The
lifestyle of a hoarder is more troubled then it may seem.
There are many reasons why these individuals feel the need
to hoard such as emotional attachment, perfectionism, or the
lack of ability to make decisions. As a result, they tend to
feel trapped in a complicated and vicious circle. Hoarding’s
effects can extend and overtake their lives and cause major
health risks.
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2nd Main Point: Psychological Factors
Several medical studies have concluded that it is
possible to recognize the early symptoms of compulsive
hoarding before the problem gets too serious and leads
to a severe and chronic condition. Common symptoms
are excessive clutter, the tendency to procrastinate and
being unable to concentrate on simple everyday tasks
due to stress or anxiety. However, there is no way to
prevent hoarding. The best way to deal, just like any
other medical condition, is to seek out professional help
at the first sign of a problem.
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3rd Main Point: Biological Factors
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Hoarding is not only a mental illness, but it is also a type of
animal behaviour. It is the act of gathering excess food and
storing them for the time when food is less abundant such as
during winter time. The most common animals that hoard are
rodents, squirrels, and several bird species. The behaviour of
animal hoarding can be comparable to human hoarding in
many different ways. They both collect items in anticipation
of future use. However, this psychological disorder makes it
almost impossible for the individual to throw away any of
their belongings whereas animals who hoard uses these items
as a way of survival.
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Key Source #1
Parker-Pope, T. (2011, May 12). Hoarding’s Impact on Children. The New
York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
This interesting article gives new insight on the effects hoarding has on loved
ones and the people around us. It describes accurately how the current
media portrays this disorder and gives the readers a lot to think about. By
writing this article, Parker-Pope raises awareness about compulsive hoarding
being a significant issue that must be helped.
“Many children of hoarders are left… with parents who seemed
to value inanimate objects more than the animate ones…”
“They grew up in this difficult environment and naturally
came to resent it.”
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Key Source #2
Paxton, M. (2011). The secret lives of hoarders: True stories of tackling extreme
clutter. Virginia: Perigee Trade.
Paxton, one of the experts on the hit TV show Hoarders, takes a close look and
gives readers a more in-depth look at the everyday life of a hoarder. He
thoroughly explains the dangers of this condition and gives numerous ways on
how to prevent a close one from having a severe hoarding problem. This book
is well written and gives good insight into the great number of cases in today’s
world.
“Unless someone reaches out to the hoarder, the disorder
continues to grow like bacteria in a weakened body” (p. 8).
“Hoarders often feel threatened, unloved, harassed, and misunderstood; family
members feel rejected, ignored, or scolded; neighbors feel annoyed, unsafe, and
alarmed. Nobody seems to know what to do” (p. 11).
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Key Source #3
Steketee, G. (2010). Compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things. New
York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
This book compiles a large amount of recent studies that have been made
on this complex disorder. It not only gives a practical-view on hoarding, but
it also answers the doubts and the reasons why an individual hoards.
Steketee composed a great source of a combination of real life stories and
informational data.
“One feature of hoarding that sets it apart from disorders such
as OCD is that it can be intensely pleasurable” (p. 65)
“Hoarding affords many of its sufferers the illusion of control
and replaces fear with a feeling of safety” (p. 93)
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Discussion Questions
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Is there any other useful and important information
on hoarders that I should have included in my
research?
Do you believe that compulsive hoarding is a threat
to society? If yes/no, why?