Overbuying and hoarding

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by mojo101

I once have a neighbor who has a PHD in English and was one time the dean of English dept in a small college,after a flood,I walked by her home on the first level of the house and saw what she has hoarded-
-16 years of Sunday newspaper,it was wet and moldy,she said she may read it some day.
-cheap plastic mini fan and cheap plastic hair curler clogged with dirt,she may need it some day?
I know she is retired and earning some money grading student papers from a local university so she is not senile,BUT she cant seem to smell the musty odor and the condition of the items she may used some day?
I have to walk away as the odor is too strong but it does not seem to bother her.

When people have odors like that in their house, they become acclimated to it and don’t notice it. For example, the cat urine smell was overwhelming in my aunt’s house, but she didn’t notice it. Meanwhile, no one in my family wanted to visit her or go inside her house because it was just that overwhelming. Unfortunately, I think that partially contributed to her situation getting so bad. She did live with a cousin, but that cousin apparently had addiction problems and wasn’t particularly helpful.

[mojo101]

But how do you explain 16 years of Sunday newspaper she intended to read some day?

[silibran]

Originally Posted by mojo101

But how do you explain 16 years of Sunday newspaper she intended to read some day?

You can’t explain it logically. For some reason discarding the newspapers might provoke anxiety, or they represent something she cannot bear to throw out.

I do think hoarders can be overwhelmed with the task of clearing out. It could be a huge task, requiring many anxiety provoking decisions. It might be that hoarders lack critical thinking skills to deal with decision making.

But I’m just speculating.

And, not everyone hoards purchased items. Sometimes people hoard junk or found items. Or inherited items.

[winterbird]

Another trait of hoarders is that they can be extremely uncomfortable/anxious when you enter the space(s) where they store things. My father is a hoarder and growing up his spaces (storage rooms, office, his half of my parents’ bedroom, his car) was packed. Any efforts to clean and organize get rid of trash were met with an overwhelming rage and whining for the one item he just so happened to need after we cleaned. Today his house and vehicle are overwhelming. He never invites us over and if the kids get in his 6 seater truck he has to clean and make room for us to sit. This process involves shuffling things around.
There probably are a few valuable items under the, but nothing worth the stress and drama that has come with his psychosis.

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by winterbird

There probably are a few valuable items under the, but nothing worth the stress and drama that has come with his psychosis.

Unless he's also schizophrenic or something...hoarding is not a "psychosis."