Essay Stepping in to a Compulsive Hoarder's House

People with hoarding behavior also may be suffering from a variety of other disorders. Many hoarders have problems with anxiety, separation anxiety, and attachment disorder (HelpGuide, 2010). Someone with separation anxiety and attachment disorder feels afraid to be apart from a certain person or object or is fearful of being alone. People with these attachment disorders or other attachment problems have difficulty connecting to others and

Individuals accumulate large numbers of items hat fill up and clutter active living areas to the extent that their intended use is no longer possible (2014). We see examples of this disorder by the mountains of containers of Chinese take-out and pizza boxes and the way he stores the mutilated remains of his victims in Tupperware containers. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder was ruled out because didn’t display obsessions or compulsions

The word hoarding was originally used to describe the behavior of animals storing food for future use, and then moved into use as a descriptor of human behavior. There are also different types of hoarders. These include Clinical compulsive hoarding, OCD or perfectionist hoarding, animal

Lars Eighners essay “On Dumpster Diving” describes the lifestyle of living out of a dumpster. Lars demonstrates that anyone can achieve a fulfilling life without the constraints of society and material wealth. He finds nearly everything he needs and sometimes more just from the refuse of others. Firstly, what is dumpster diving? Dumpster diving is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential waste in order to obtain items one might find useful that have been discarded by their owners. Dumpster diving is largely associated with the homeless or people with little or no source of income. In January 2013, 610,042

Eighner chooses to dive into dumpsters not because he needs the material items he finds, but rather because he does not. In the conclusion of his essay “On Dumpster Diving,” Eighner makes it clear that he believes excess material objects are unnecessary and that they do more harm than good for a person, and this is true. Eighner accurately describes how having large amounts of material goods does nothing to improve the well-being or morality of the human race because holding onto physical possessions leads to the development of bad habits and traits within society.

My acquaintance was a 65-year old woman who lived with her eldest daughter because the family home stood as an unsafe habitat due to clutter and lack of livable space. Throughout several decades, Mrs. R gradually filled up the family home with holiday decorations, furniture, clothes, candy, and countless magazines. Twenty years ago, her husband purchased and placed two trailers in the backyard to accommodate the growing amount of clutter. The house became a network of narrow tunnels and most spaces were unusable. What once was a humorous oddity (the children joked about having four couches in the basement and receiving greeting cards from the local grocery store), slowly withered from nonsense to seriousness, and the humor evolved into family shame and fear. Mrs. R had several part time service jobs to support her habit. Ten years ago, Mrs. R and her husband separated because he decided he could no longer live with his wife and her persistent need to accumulate items. Although no one lived at the family home, the house remained full of items. Mrs. R’s daughter noted that object accumulation escalated after Mrs. R went through

Lars Eighner “On Dumpster Diving” originally published in The Threepenny review in fall 1990. Eighner’s arranges his essay into 3 main ideas to all tie into his overall theme. He ties it all into the idea that our society is wasteful by nature. Eighner uses his own experiences to show how wasteful people really are. Although he has not always been homeless, it has taught him a way of life he had never dreamed imaginable. If he doesn’t discover the hidden treasure of the dumpster’s then who will.

Many individuals are accustomed to waste at least a portion of what they buy, whether it is food, clothes, furniture, supplies, or materials worldwide. According to the article: “On Dumpster Diving” many valuable items were found by the homeless who searched the dumpster for food. Surprisingly, they found useful items that helped them survive throughout each day. In fact, the products were worth for the exchange of money. At certain times, I myself may be considered to be a wasteful person during certain times such as, not finishing my drink and throwing more than half of it away. While rushing at work during break, this is a usual situation for many people Although, it isn't necessarily on purpose it is considered wasteful, valuable and influence advertising.

3rd Street S. and Franklin is a neighborhood that is slightly impoverished in terms of the old homes along with the more modern buildings. Visiting Betty’s neighborhood allowed for me to see the lack of mingling between the few who were walking around, while also taking in the few amount of cars that were parked. This really surprised me because I figured that Minneapolis is always busy and crowded. It was, for the most part, quiet except for the few cars that were blasting hip hop music. The apartment buildings looked almost exactly the same- red brick, old, and a bit worn down from the entrances and some windows held air conditioners. This contrasted with the new lofts that were on the opposite side of 3rd street. These lofts had clean

Hoarding has gained increased attention in recent years due to recent media television shows depicting the circumstances hoarders may live in. It can be difficult to determine when a person crosses from a simple over collecting behavior into a hoarding behavior. “Hoarding is a debilitating disorder characterized by the acquisition of a large volume of possessions that clutter living areas to such a degree that living spaces cannot be used of their intended purpose (Frost, Kim, Steketee, 2011).” Many people who tend to have hoarding behaviors are unaware of the severity of their actions and feel they are living in normal conditions. As Frank et al. (2014) states, “it is general agreed that when a person’s collecting affects his or her environment in such a way that causes danger to him or herself or others, intervention is necessary.” Although there is much research on adults with hoarding behaviors, there is limited research on the effects of hoarding among the elderly population. Hoarding behaviors among elderly adults can be seen as a danger to one’s health over time has it can harm their physical health, safety and overall well-being.

Up to 5% of the world’s population displays some sign of clinic hoarding. Hoarding involves the compulsive acquisition and accumulation of objects, animals, and trash and other debris. The hoarder, who often has another mental illness such as depression, is unable or unwilling to discard items, frequently resulting in health and safety hazards to those who reside in or visit the dwelling (Hurd, 2015). Hoarding can affect many aspects of one’s life causing severe problems and can begin as early as adolescent years continuing through elderly life.

A. Compulsive hoarding is a common and potentially disabling problem, characterized by the accumulation of excessive clutter, to the point that parts of one's home can no longer be used for their intended purpose

Previously hoarding behaviours were included in the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) category (Murphy, 2014 p.21), but it is now presented as its own disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5). Research determined that hoarding should be its own category due its diagnosis characteristics and individual treatment. “Hoarding has been defined as the excessive collection and retention of things or animals to the point that they interfere with daily function (Textbook Source)”. While one individual may only extremely collect one item or animal, another individual may collect multiple things. Hoarding starts when individuals begin to have a difficulty time getting rid of certain possessions and

Hoarding is considered to be a clinical syndrome that affects thousands of people in the world and in the US. Individuals, who suffer from hoarding syndrome involuntary force to suffer their family, friends and the community. Chaos caused by people with hoarding disorder makes the living conditions unacceptable. Hoarders, most of the time, are unaware of the severity of their behavior, they reject the existence of the problem and refuse from any medical

A Second criterion, according to Dr. Randy Frost, is living spaces of the person are so cluttered that the rooms cannot be used for their original design. For example, one cannot use the toilet because items are stored in it. Obviously, with lots of items coming into the home and very few going out, the clutter will accumulate. It does not take long for the clutter to start spreading onto the floors, counter tops, hallways, stairwells, even to the garage. Beds become so cluttered that there is no room to sleep. Kitchen counters become so cluttered that food cannot be prepared. For many hoarders, it gets to a point where there might be only a narrow pathway that connects each room, and the rest of the house is piled several feet high with clutter. This clutter can not only be a hindrance, but can also be very dangerous. The dust, mildew, mold, and rat droppings commonly found in extreme clutter can irritate