This week I had the chance to see an enlightening, new program on A&E: “Hoarders.” I know this post is longer and more serious than usual, but bear with me. There is something for everyone here.
Each 60-minute episode of Hoarders is a fascinating look inside the lives of two different people whose inability to part with their belongings is so out of control that they are on the verge of a personal crisis.
What is compulsive hoarding?
According to the Hartford Hospital Institute Anxiety Disorders Center, compulsive hoarding is a common and potentially disabling problem, characterized by the accumulation of excessive clutter, to the point that parts of one’s home can no longer be used for their intended purpose. Compulsive hoarding, which may affect up to 2 million people in the United States, is often found in patients with other diseases, including dementia, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and anorexia. It’s most often seen in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Researchers aren’t certain whether compulsive hoarding is a subtype of OCD or a separate disorder.
Dr. David Tolin, founder and Director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at The Institute of Living / Hartford Hospital, is a board certified clinical psychologist who specializes in compulsive hoarding. Dr. Tolin is brought in to work with Jill, one of the hoarders in this week’s episode. He talks with Jill as they and several professional organizers sort through piles of trash and rotting food throughout her house. He once asked her about a rotting pumpkin (one of several) which is unearthed. Jill states, “It’s a squash that went bad…yeah, I’d forgotten about that.”
Working with someone who hoards must include both a professional organizer (for the organizing part) and a mental health professional (Dr. Tolin, in this case) for the behavioral and emotional piece. Sure, an organizer can come in and remove the clutter and even unsanitary conditions, but the behaviors and emotions that maintained the hoarding are still present. Dr. Tolin indicates, “Clutter is the symptom. Hoarding is the disease.”
Hoarding is marked by denial. As one of the organizers working with Jill literally shoveled a rotten pumpkin, from the floor of her home, into a trash container, Jill stopped him to pick out several pumpkin seeds. She stated, “It would be neat if I could grow some of these.” Why is this denial? Jill is avoiding the obvious – that a rotten pumpkin is being shoveled from her floor into a trash can – along with piles of other foods, debris, and health-threatening germs. Dr. Tolin later tells Jill, “Something is off. Your old way of doing things…it’s self-destructive as hell.”
Issues tackled in this episode include the potential loss of residence (for Jill) and the possibility of children being removed from their parents’ home (Jennifer and Ron) due to unsafe conditions. Jennifer is a shopping addict while her husband Ron has significant difficulty getting rid of anything. Unfortunately, the couple’s son is picking up his parents’ habits (as Ron picked up his own father’s difficulty in letting things go). The young son is seen watching a man break apart an old playhouse before disposing of it. The boy is tearful and says he wanted to keep the playhouse because it made him think of when he was a little boy playing in it.
There it is. This little boy is the face of many adult Americans – we can’t let go of things because we fear we will lose a pleasant memory – or even worse, a loved one who is now gone. The truth of the matter is this: our loved one is not that old, tattered sweater or bag of jewelry. Our memories exist despite the lack of our loved one’s physical belongings we hold onto today. When you feel like you can’t part with something, ask yourself if you will lose the memory of the person (or the experience) which you hold onto in the particular object. If you feel you absolutely must keep something, don’t stuff it in a bag and put it in the back or your closet. Instead, honor it. Display it in a frame or glass case. Don’t let the objects you hold onto trip you up.
Keep in mind, professional organizers work with a wide range of individuals and their needs. Hoarding is at the most severe range of disorganization.
For more information on hoarding
Video: How Hoarders Can Get Organized
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32415772#32415772
For more information about chronic disorganization http://www.nsgcd.org/resources/factsheets.php
To find a Professional Organizer in your area
10/12/09: Just a follow up – The Oprah Show just aired an episode about the A&E show, Hoarders, last week. Peter Walsh and Dr. Tolin were both on hand to add insight. For more information, click here: Oprah Show / Hoarders
