The Science of Hoarding

Alex


Image: Grap/Wikimedia

The next time your mom complains that you don't throw junk away, tell her that you're in good company: nearly 15 million people suffer from varying degrees of hoarding disorder. But what causes hoarding?

A few years ago, Samson (not his real name) unplugged his refrigerator. It had, he says, “got out of hand.” He didn’t empty it, and he hasn’t opened it since.

That's how Bonnie Tsui's journey to understanding the science of hoarding began:

In a National Public Radio interview a couple of years ago, Frost talked about the reasons hoarders might collect certain items: a decades-old newspaper because it could be useful in the future; an array of bottle caps purely for their fascinating physical characteristics; a seemingly insignificant postcard because it reminded the owner of a loved one or a specific event. Frost saw universality in the way the beliefs seem to be tied to information processing. “There are some problems with attention—that is, distractibility and sometimes a hyper focus, problems with categorization, the ability to organize things,” he explained. “People who hoard tend to live their lives visually and spatially instead of categorically, like the rest of us do.” One of his patients, Irene, would put an electricity bill on top of a pile; if she needed it again, she would remember where it was in space, rather than filing it away—mentally and physically—in a “bills” category.
“We don’t know the nature of the emotional attachments that people who hoard have to objects,” Frost told me. “How do they form, and why are they so? What are the vulnerabilities that lead up to it?”

Read the rest of Bonnie's article over at Pacific Standard Magazine: Link


Comments (7)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

Nope... her father forcing her to clean and them not having as much money have helped some lol. Also she babysits her other grandchild (a toddler) every once in a while so can't keep the house gross and messy any longer. Or well... it's still messy, just the poop and pee thing isn't a problem any longer.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
My mother-in-law is a hoarder. She's not as bad as she used to be, but it was HORRIBLE for a while. She was not a 'clean' hoarder and would let her pets poo and pee everywhere on everything. You could smell her house standing half a football field away... and I am not exaggerating.
Thankfully her father moved back in to the home and basically forced his almost 60yo child to clean up the house.
It's infuriating trying to deal with all of the mess, but she's not a bad person. Just stubborn and in denial.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I think you're right: hoarding is probably just the extreme end of the spectrum in the disorder. On the opposite end, there are those who clean compulsively (The article touched upon this, and why hoarding may be a unique disorder in and of itself, rather than just a continuation of OCD).
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I wonder if this could also be applied to people who are just a little bit untidy (lets take for example a desk) but seemingly can place their hands on something in that mess instantaneously?
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Clamps from Futurama is missing one of his hands and it ended up here.

http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/CharacterBios/clamps.dhtml

Shark Attack Mug
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
a clamp for securing / stabilizing debris after an accident for rescue / cleanup efforts... would be safer with a closed eylet..

Chemist's Glassware ladie's fit 2xl
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
The object is a part of a robotic crocodile built for Peter the Great by an expatriate French blacksmith. The iron crocodile was to be the villain's assistant. Unfortunately the full text of the play was lost in the Great Fire.

Office guy, extra large, gigantic you got it.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Wheel clamp used by parking wardens to put on toddler tricycles at expired parking meters in front of the local Gymboree.

MMM.....Pi, Serene Green, Ladies L
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
If you look carefully you can see the Cisco logo on the side of the jaws: this was their very first "router" ever sold. You could route your telegraph wires through the jaws, turn 90 degrees up, cross the road at a convenient point, then route the wires back down the other side, all without crossing wires. Cisco still makes routers today but they aren't cast out of iron any more. They just don't build them to last like they used to...

If selected, a donation to your local humane society would be superb. :)
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
"That's my great grand-daddy's left clamp! Oh if I ever get my clamps on whoever took it I will give 'em such a clamping!" ~Clamps from Futurama

Look out shroedingers cat = lrg blk thanks
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
This is a device used by linemen long ago to pull wire. It would be clamped to the top of a pole beam,and the wire laid thru the slot and pulled down to the next pole. These were temporary and would be removed after the line was secured to the insulator.
protect your nuts,2xl
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
This was the first of the avon products for ladies to style their hair. It would be heated on the stove and the hair placed into the zig-zag section to make "crimped" hair styles. It quickly fell out of favor to the "flat iron" hairstyle look.
protect your nuts,2 xl
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
This is a device used by the IRS to hang a person by their toes(or anything else) to get payment for taxes owed. (I don't get it, this is not an antique, it's still in use today).
protect your nuts,2xl
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
The "Definitely Not a Multi-Purpose Tool". And if you keep posting pics of it, it will magically become an essential item in many hipster's daily carry bag.

Schrodinger's Cat: Wanted Dead And/Or Alive
Chocolate
Large
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
That is an artifact that was uncovered in New York. It is one of Clamps' clamp. Thus proving that Futurama not only is true, but instead happened in the past and that time and space just repeats itself.

What happens at Grandma's Large/blue
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Its a paperclip that meets government design specs. It costs 289.47 and a special license to own and operate. We have boxes of these around my office, and only a few of us know what they are.

T shirt: Its as bad as you think, Black XL
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"The Science of Hoarding"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More