Obsessive Hoarding, Disposophobia, Collyer's Syndrome

Hello again, Dear Reader.

So, your faithful blogsterino is now learning about a new mental illness; obsessive compulsive hoarding. Also known as Collyer's Syndrome or Disposophobia. From The OC Foundation:

Hoarding is defined as the acquisition of, and inability to discard worthless items even though they appear (to others) to have no value. Hoarding behaviors can occur in a variety of psychiatric disorders and in the normal population, but are most commonly found in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Those people who report compulsive hoarding as their primary type of OCD, experience significant distress or functional impairment from their hoarding. They have symptoms of indecisiveness, procrastination, and avoidance, are classified as having compulsive hoarding syndrome. An estimated 700,000 to 1.4 million people in the United States are believed to have compulsive hoarding syndrome.

Compulsive hoarding is not just an enthusiast's passion for collecting stamps, dolls, or baseball cards. Neither is it someone who likes to "tinker," and fix up old cars or broken furniture. People with compulsive hoarding syndrome may have immense difficulty throwing anything away, from the oldest paper clip, to a used food container, to an out-of-date newspaper, for fear that they might need those items in the future. Their homes are often full of stuff that the rest of us would call "junk." The most commonly saved items include newspapers, magazines, old clothing, bags, books, mail, notes, and lists.

Along with difficulties in throwing things away, compulsive hoarders have severe difficulties making decisions, perfectionism, and avoiding tasks. People with compulsive hoarding syndrome do not like to make mistakes. To prevent making a mistake, they will avoid or postpone making decisions. Even the smallest task, such as washing dishes or checking mail may take a long time because it has to be done "right." The net result of these high standards and the fear of making a mistake is that compulsive hoarders avoid doing many tasks, because everything becomes tedious and overwhelming.

I've been spending a lot of time online at sites such as The OC Foundation, specifically their hoarding page. It is one of the best all-in-one information sites I have found about this disease or syndrome or whatever you would like to call it. If you know or fear that a loved one of yours may be suffering from OCH, this is a superb site to begin your education. Click here for another view point.

OK, sigh...let me start over. My mother has Obsessive Compulsive Hoarding, or OCH. There, I said it. I type these words now to get this problem out in the air. It is so hard to find realistic data on this topic as it is often undiscovered, or in many cases just not reported due to the embarrassment and stigma associated with the most obvious symptoms of the illness.

We all wondered why she was so insistent, for so many years, about people not coming to her house. Well, about a year and a half ago we found out. With my mother in the hospital and the prognosis not so good, my brother and I decided we were going to find out, once and for all, what the hell was going on in that house.

On Halloween night (strangely fitting !) we drove over to mommy's house and pushed the door open. It would be more accurate to say we struggled to push the door open...After getting the door open enough for me to squeeze my head through, I saw something I will never forget for the rest of my life...Stinking, rotting trash piled ALL THE WAY to the ceiling. My heart sank and my stomach did a barrel roll. Immediately a wave of stench and rot and decay overwhelmed my senses, causing me to recoil in terror. "WHAT IS IT?!? WHAT...IS...IT?!?" my brother asked. All I could do was slowly back away from the door...eyes wide...face pale and void of blood...pointing like a horrified zombie toward the absolute horror I had just been exposed to. As I backed away, I could hear the rats moving towards the back sections of the house...

[more in the next post]
[if you or someone you know may be suffering from this debilitating disorder, please leave a comment! for more information, click on the links below. - 73 nixons]

what is hoarding

hoarding: a successful compulsion

questions and answer about hoarding

problems in treating compulsive hoarding