Hoarding - A Disability or Just Denial?
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
United States
September 13, 2010 9:50am CST
i love the show hoarders and hoarders buried alive and on one of the shows (maybe both) they have a message about how hoarding is a problem and through out the show they keep referring to it as a "mental disorder". im torn on this...
one part of me thinks its just the way people deal with maybe not having things as a kid but its hard to believe that people dont see the problem when they are tripping over stuff etc.
another part of me is worried that the way they are saying its a mental disorder that this is the gateway to making it a thing that qualifies for disability which would just give them more time to hoard. obesity and from what i heard from a friend they also have done it for alcoholism have actually been used to get disability. WHICH i DO think that obesity can be from medical conditions and something that people cant control so DONT get me wrong that i think all obese people shouldnt get disability but with alcoholics isnt that just giving them more time to drink? that would be like giving people addicted to drugs disability.. some of these hoarders are hoarders because they did become disabled for a health problem and did it out of boredom..
like i said dont get me wrong i do realize that some obese people have health issues that made them gain and keep the weight on which is not their fault. the alcoholism unless they had failing liver and was on dialysis it doesnt make much sense.. but is hoarding the next thing that will qualify? do you think it should? do you think hoarding itself alone is a mental condition? i think most of the time its caused by something else that very well could be something disabling but not 100% of the time
8 responses
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Sep 10
i know some people of that era too that is the same thing.. and some people that grew up extremely poor turn out the same way once they have some money
@syankee525 (6261)
• United States
14 Sep 10
i kind think its both. my dad is like that but not as bad as people on the show. he wants to keep things that isnt worth anything
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Sep 10
i have a few family members like that too.. not living with me though
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
14 Sep 10
That show drives me crazy, probably because I'm a neat freak and I like things to be neat and uncluttered. I would never be good in those situations because I would just go in and throw everything away and the person would probably flip out even more. I don't think its a mental disorder more than its a problem letting go of stuff. It could be a mental block because they don't see it as trash but they need to know that its not healthy to keep everything because you can't take it with you when you die.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Sep 10
to me if im not going to use it i dont want it around!!
@eurekafemme (5877)
• Philippines
14 Sep 10
At one point in my life, I can say that I have become a certified hoarder of tin cans, old newspapers and magazines and practically of everything scraps. I did not do it for sentimental reasons, though, to some it could be the reason. But what was I thinking was I can recycle those trash into something useful and beautiful.
But day by day, as I can see boxes from all corners of the house, it started to suffocate me and decided that it was time to get rid of evrything I collected since i couldn't find time to recycle them anyway.
I still hoard a little of something like mementos but it doesn't clutter my place any longer so I can live with that.
Hoarding, indeed is a state of mind. It could be because you are just thinking of the mmories associated with the stuff or you either thinking of making use of it later or you are just tired to thunk of a way how to get rid of those unnecessary things.:)
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Sep 10
recycling can DEFINITELY make you LOOK like a hoarder! i recycled (up till recently just because i had to do a lot of rearranging in my house and had to stop for awhile because of no time and room) EVERYTHING and if i didnt go every week to the place to recycle it it just piled up and piled up and looked awful!!! even if i did go every week i would have my bins full in the kitchen which if you didnt know it was for recycling people would prob wonder what was wrong with me!! lol..
@katland05 (136)
• Guam
14 Sep 10
I've watched a couple of the shows & it's unbelievable how some of them live & other family members suffer because they live with the person who is hoarding.. I think if each time they throw uneaten food or throw their trash out their living environment wouldn't be piles of trash.. But even if they don't need the items they still go out and shop for items that is not needed & then it gets piled in the corner & fills the space... Sad to see this happening... Have a great day mylotters...
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Sep 10
i dont understand the cases where people are in debt from their constant shopping just to pile them up in their house with the price tags still on them
@figurativeme (1089)
• Philippines
14 Sep 10
Hi! This is the first I heard of hoarding as a disability. I believe it is a sweeping statement to say so and perhaps the show (we don't have it here so I haven't seen it) is an exaggeration. Usually shows are like that to make a point.
It could hit home...like me (lol) I have lots of stuff left by my deceased parents. I suppose I keep them for sentimental reasons but they are well kept. I have given away a few. That does not mean I am disabled. God forbid!
I think there are lots of reasons why people hoard. There may be abnormalities but I would like to think they are the exception rather than the rule.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
13 Sep 10
OMG I watch it too and can't believe that they can live like that!!!! And the part that bothers me is that they have such a hard time getting rid of even a piece of paper!!!I don't know what it is.....they say usually its when they lose someone or something big time happens to them. I suppose it is a mental disability but most of them are still working.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
13 Sep 10
oh i know! some people want to hang on to rotten food!! i can see it being a mental issue but not something that would be bad enough unless it was paired up with like agoraphobia or something else
