Hoarders

Much of the reason could be laziness and yes, partly a mental malady. I have seen those shows and find them quite interesting. I am not a neat person myself, my house is also messy, but not as messy as those hoarders I see on TV. Those are extreme.

So...my father has some hobbies...repairing things. The tools and equipment required for this are many. He helps others and at the end of the day is too tired to place them in their place. So they are out there on any surface that he can find. Likewise, he loves others giving him responsibilities about things. He takes them on. Things especially papers remain helter skelter. I have received chocolates and ice creams to discover the things..lol He also collects newspapers. He hasnt got the time, but I have one year's newspapers in my home as of now, and old calendars...I cant tell him dad...lets sell them. If I do that...there will be earthquake in my home. He will blow his top that bad. So yes, I too have become sloppy.. what is the use when newspapers and even the plastic covers that come with things are there everywhere in the drawing room. Who is going to come to my room to judge me. I like it neat but neatness in my room looks odd amidst this mess. :)

I agree, it has to be a mental illness. I only saw a couple of these shows but I do know what they're about. I don't have cable anymore and I sure do miss it. I know a lot of it has to do with just not wanting to throw things out. They feel there is a use for the item somewhere down the line. When they think this way, that's when the items start piling up. I'm sure depression has something to do with it also. I went to a garage sale once and I believe the people were hoarders. There was absolutely no room in the garage. Everything smelled musty or from mildew. They had items on the tables out in the front but the majority was in the garage from what I saw, and it was nothing but junk..all of it. As we were leaving I looked into the livingroom and saw stacks of items in there too. I don't know how people live like this.......it's very sad actually. I don't think you're being critical in the least.

My sister is famous for hoarding. She has no mental illness. It is just that she is so sentimental that she has even kept old clothes of her kids, even books and so on. Her children are all adults and now having their own kids. The other day her daughter helped her clean up some mess. Ofcourse some are downright lazy and this could be attributed to depression or some kind of mental illness. Laziness is a disease and is a handicap to get on with life.

I also watch that show and I could see how much attached these people have become to their properties. But yes, I do agree that it all starts from being lazy and stubborn. Some have shown that their clinging to these things are their only connection to a certain event in their lives or people that are important to them. And you could just see the pain in their eyes when their stuff are taken away from them. So, I guess that there is the psychological part of being a hoarder, that is not being able to control your emotions and let go of bad feelings.

I don't know if it is a mental illness that would cause this, but I do have a family member who does this sort of thing. Of course someone is there to help him and stop him from doing it, but in his case, I don't think it's laziness. I think it's the frustration of things backing up to the point he cannot catch up. I think he then gets discouraged and then won't do anything about the clutter.

I used to be a bit of a hoarder in my younger days, although certainly not to the same extent as some people. I found after moving 6 times in a short space of time that hoarding was a bad practice and I was only shifting stuff unnecessarily, so one day I had a big purge, I got rid of tonnes of stuff, most went to charity, so they made a bit of money for good causes. That is what I don't understand. It doesn't have to be done in one day, just a bit each day soon mounts up, or should I say unmounts the hoarders stockpile!

I do not really know about people always putting things for later. But it could be ONE of the reasons, or maybe some or most of them just do not like to throw things out in the garbage. but that is different from me. ha ha i mean what i do, is that if i do not need them i throw them away especially if they are of no use to me. Perhaps it is an illness, psychological problems building up and that the only comfort is that seeing their possessions grow. I have watched this series on tv as well, and believe me i could not believe how much trash these people have in their homes. They could no longer even walk freely in their homes, some homes are basically a huge garbage bin, and are literally walking on them. I wonder just how much dust there is in there. I know sometimes i get lazy to keep things, but i always do put them where should be so i know where i could find the things when i need them.

I, too have watched a few of these shows, and the one thing that I have noted, is when the phsycologist interviews the family members, they always ask the family members..."what was the trigger point?" As most of these people were NOT like this all their life! All answers seem to point to some SEVERE trauma that happened in the hoarders life...and they spiralled into a deep depression!! Gathering, collecting, hoarding seemed to be the only pleasure that they achieved in this world..but the DEEP depression begat disinterest in tidiness, orderliness, and cleanliness! I gleened from the interview these hoarders were deeply depressed...and hoarding was their uplift, and they were impervious to their surroundings. Therefore, I truly believe it begins with a mental trauma..that becomes a serious mental illness! I have also noted that once the root of the depression is treated, these folks go forward in life!

I do agree that with some of them, it is an illness. Others..maybe laziness and then getting overwhelmed with it all and maybe just getting used to living like that?? I really don't understand it much. I tend to be a pretty cluttery person but I also can't stand the clutter. I am constantly picking up and cleaning. I can't work on my craft projects or enjoy a book until my home is picked up. I also don't "hoard" things. I think hoarding and piling up junk are very different. Hoarders just can;t get rid of things that they have become emotionally attached to or that they think may have a use down the road. The ones that let real garbage and filth pile etc...they are just lazy.

I've often wondered about it myself. There is an element of compulsive behavior there but wondered too, if it wasn't just a person that procrastinates and then they are so used to the mess that they don't see it anymore. Some episodes there is a very real attachment to their possessions but the question was always in the back of my head if they treasure this stuff so much why not take care of it instead of leaving it all over the place. The mind is a wonderful thing but a person can get lost in there too.

I also watch the show but I was wondering if it's really their situation or just paid up by the show to look like that. They have kids and some are teenagers, aren't they cleaning up? I understand about them having sentimental value of their stuff but if they really do, it has to be placed neat and clean in their places and not just somewhere with dusts. And please, those clothes all over the place, seriously? Maybe there's truth about them hoarding but not with clothes and other stuffs on living room and even in kitchen.

I became interested about this issue when it became a topic in , i am not sure if it was in DISCOVERY CHANNEL or NAT GEO.. and then i realized that i am a hoarder and wasn't aware that it is actually a mental illness. I can be really really lazy a lot of times yes ,maybe that is why some of my stuff stayed in the house for a long time.. and maybe yes, i am one of that 10 %. hehe.. and i can say that for me, it's easy to fix. because it's just laziness and i just have to move and throw the things that i don't need anymore. =)

this is a mental health issue and i do know people who live like that piles of out right garbage to you or i but what you may not relize is every little thing in the persons home has a meaning of a person a place or a thing even pets so we should not be to fast to judge a person just yet till we know all the facts

hi moongypsy I dont think all of it is severe mental illness as for a few people i is simply lack of s pace. My best fri nd is very intelligent and mentally stable but her living room is packed with their belongings. Its clean and all is in good condition , not junk kept because they might need it. She just does not have storage space as she is in a mobile hom. It is very cramped really.she is very clean and every thing sparkles .So her wall to wall furnishings are from lack of spce and too many well meaning friends gifting her wit5 things sh has no room to store.

I see that show here in Mexico. I have a sister in the usa. She hordes. Saves anything and everything. I agree its a deasease.