Hoarders

When it comes to hoarding, one person's junk is another's treasure. Most of us are attached to things we inherited from our parents or grandparents, or we're attached to photographs or special items that we've bought but people with hoarding problems often become emotionally attached to items that strike the rest of us as junk, or to pieces of paper that aren't particularly interesting.

Compulsive hoarding is a mental disorder marked by an obsessive need to acquire and keep things even if the items are worthless, hazardous or unsanitary.

Hoarders may become anxious and angry at the mere suggestion of getting rid of items that they've held onto for years. They often say that if they throw something away, they may need it someday when it will be impossible to retrieve. So they collect scraps of paper with shopping lists from years ago. They may hold on to old clothing, extra furniture, used envelopes, clothing price tags, soda cans, string, leaves, even cigarette ashes, burned-out light bulbs, used tea bags, and toilet paper cores. One woman saved wishbones from chickens because "one day they will be used for making wishes." Another collected clothes that weren't her size because she "might run into someone who needs them someday." When confronted with their behavior, hoarders claim that it isn't a problem at all. At the same time, they are often embarrassed to have visitors to their home. Most experts report that hoarding doesn't seem to play favorites with rich or poor, young or old, although the middle-aged and the elderly have had more years to squirrel away the stuff that might drive others crazy. There are no good statistics on the number of hoarders, although some estimates have put the number at up to 3 to 6 million people. These people are often single, but among those who are married, divorces often occur when a spouse simply can't live in such chaos. The treatment of hoarding can be challenging since it means changing behaviors that may almost be lifelong. Some hoarders are simply too embarrassed to seek help. Others panic when contemplating discarding their "treasures."

I have a hoarder in my family. A few years ago she had a “spell” and called another family member. Who in turn called 911. When the EMT’s arrived they could not get a gurney into her.. She had to be put on a chair and carried out the door to the gurney. She was put in the hospital and when she was dismissed she was taken to the home of a family member. From there she was placed in a senior Apartment Complex. She is miserable and she does not hesitate to tell you. But her home was a dangerous place for any living thing. She had collected stacks of foam meat trays. Tons of expired canned food. Paper sacks.. You get the idea. Along with all this clutter and filth were dead mice and who knows what all will be found when it is finally cleaned up. She lived in a 4 bedroom 2 story house with an attic. I had not been to her home in over 25 years. She isolated herself from me and in turn it was painful for me to visit her.

But a word to the wise? Don't settle down alone (or even with a loved one) to watch an episode of "Hoarders" on A & E TV while eating dinner. It's rather sickening to watch 37+ diseased and dead cats be removed from a garage piled with garbage while eating a bowl of homemade soup and cornbread. Perhaps this goes without saying for some of you, but I learned it the hard way.

Hoarders is on A&E at 10 pm on Monday nights.