Hoarding in Our Society – An Informal Case Study
In order to gain more knowledge on the possible types of hoarding that exist in our society and to include a personal perspective related to my topic, I interviewed a college student that admits to having hoarding tendencies. We had a casual, matter-of-fact conversation about hoarding and the degree to which it is part of her life. For privacy purposes she will be kept anonymous, and I will use the name “Penelope” when I refer to her.
I started off the conversation with Penelope by asking her if she was ever diagnosed with an obsessive-compulsive disorder such as hoarding. She explained that she was not, but that she considered herself a borderline hoarder. This is her reason for feeling this way: “I often hold on to things longer than I think is normal, and I have to think for a while before throwing stuff away” (Penelope 2012). Some of the items she normally saves are: notes, pictures, things associated with memories, cloths, tools, art supplies, and scraps from projects. She stated that she has been doing this as long as she can remember, and recalled the example that her closet in the house she lived in while growing up was piled high with papers and other items. Penelope mentioned that she had a cousin that was a hoarder – she owned three houses that were filled with belongings. This cousin never had a chance to resolve her issues before her death. Penelope’s brother also shows some signs of having that tendency, and she thinks it is a learned behavior from watching her.
When asked if she believed her borderline hoarding was triggered by anything, Penelope remembered a situation from her childhood in which she discovered, upon coming home from school one day, that her father had donated some of her favorite toys. This was a major blow, considering she grew up with the mentality that things might have more meaning than we think, such as in a movie she watched called Toy Story. She has not only been confronted about her potential problem by her boyfriend, but also by her father. Her father believes that her habits are disrespectful to others around her, specifically due to her “messiness” in the house when she stays with her parents. Also affected are her roommates and those that interact with her in her work space. Penelope says that she realizes this, and will sometimes clean up certain areas, but she also feels like it is not a priority in comparison to other things – such as time management.
I asked Penelope to describe her living space and work space. She said that in both places, nothing is too organized, and she prefers to leave things out for easy access. Her shelving units are open so that she can see everything she has at once. Even though her living space can be on the messy side, she made a point that the kitchen and bathroom are always the cleanest places. The other areas, such as her work space, only get “cleaned up” when she is nervous – and all the while she feels like she should be doing other things. Penelope confesses that she does not mind rummaging around through all her stuff to find things because she spends that time in thought about what she is going to do with the particular items she finds.
As far as negative effects on different aspects of her life, Penelope has to deal with confrontations from her boyfriend and father. Many people around her are much more neat and orderly than she is, so she realizes her hoarding tendencies accompanied by the messiness are a bigger deal to them than her. Having seen some of the documentaries on television about hoarding, she sometimes gets the motivation to clean things up. At the same time, she admits that things still pile up past the point that they should.
Being an artist, Penelope finds that her habits are reflected in the works that she does. She uses a lot of detail, and finds bits and pieces of things that she saves to incorporate into new projects. I asked her why she felt the need to do this, and she responded: “These things might have more potential in my hands than in the trash” (Penelope 2012).
In analyzing this interview in conjunction with what I have learned from research, I noticed a parallel between Penelope’s habits and reasoning, and those of a diagnosed hoarder (which can be seen as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder). Some traits of an obsessive-compulsive person can be inaction and indecisiveness (Silverstein & Millon, 2007). Penelope mentioned that throwing things away could be a bit of a challenge. Her belief that “organizing and getting things cleaned up is not a priority” could also be a problem in the future (Penelope 2012). She justified some of her collecting and saving of items with the possibility of their future potential. In some extreme hoarding cases, when confronted with what to keep, the individual can face a challenge when trying to decide which objects are necessary and which are not (Rachman & Shafran, 1998).
In a case such as this one, it is important to be observant of the situation so that it does not get out of hand. For Penelope’s cousin it did go too far, and she did not have the chance to resolve the issue. Penelope seems to have an understanding of the negative effects that her borderline hoarding can have on herself and others, but shows some signs of resistance to change. Hopefully she will maintain control over her situation and make appropriate decisions in the future.
For more information on hoarding and to find helpful resources for yourself, family, or friends, please explore: www.heapsofhelp.wordpress.com.
Bibliography
Penelope (anonymous interviewee), personal communication, March 16th, 2012
Rachman, S., & Shafran, R. (1998). Cognitive and Behavioral Features of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In R. P. Swinson, M. M. Antony, S. Rachman, & M. A. Richter, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Theory, Research, and Treatment (pp. 51-78). New York: The Guilford Press.
Silverstein, M. L., & Millon, T. (2007). Disorders of the self: a personality-guided approach. (T. Millon, Ed.) Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
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