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You guys probably already saw this but it is a horrible and sad story. Makes me more appreciative of being a crazy minimalist instead of a crazy hoarder
http://news.msn.com/us/official-hoarder-died-of-accidental-asphyxia
awakenedsoul
6-18-14, 12:28am
Very sad story. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to have neat and clean habits. That extra effort to wash the dishes and put them away, throw the junk mail in the recycling, sweep the floors, etc...
There is a big difference on the U shaped curve between a cluttered and dirty home and a "hoarder" who gets in the news. Our laws allow people to live the way they want to and makes it incredibly difficult to "help" those with mental illness. I suspect she owned her own home and unless bothering her neighbors, off the grid of help.
Unless the family is involved or the neighbors revolt, it goes on and on. We had an animal hoarder here and until she affected her neighbors with the smell, she was left to live with her cats. But when the neighborhood gentrified, it took the police, animal care and control and the health department to take action. Lots of time and money that many small communities dont want to undertake. Right now I am hoping the slight smell does not mean she is hoarding again.
I am at least happy that the increased exposure on TV to the mental issues of hoarders has made more aware of the issue.
There is an older woman (maybe approaching 70) who lives in a house a few blocks away. Over the past year when I take my daily walks, I have noticed the state of the house deteriorate. The lawn is two feet high, the carport and front porch are stacked to the rafters with boxes and papers. I presume the inside of the house may be in the same shape. I don't know anyone on that street but my intuition tells me she needs to be checked on. At the same time, I respect her privacy and her wish to live as she pleases. What to do?
I did read that yesterday and it made me sad....but more diligent. I'm dealing with a friend who is going through some extreme depression and anxiety. She checked herself into a clinic over the weekend (father's day triggered old issues) and when I went to pick up her dog I was amazed at the deterioration of her home in a short amount of time. She was closing herself in (darker curtains pulled tight on all windows), not cleaning and not discarding. It's really easy to block life out and not be missed till its too late.
sweetana3
6-18-14, 12:16pm
pinkytoe, that is the question. Depends on whether you are comfortable with calling Adult Protective Services to at least get another opinion. Are you comfortable if you find out she died and no one knew for weeks?
I also wonder about how people go from seemingly normal young lives into these demented states in older life. It must be a very gradual transition.
Dementia from a variety of causes can be hidden for a long time because many people can just withdraw and family lets them. Mental illness can begin at any time. Unfortunately, we all are subject to the possibility that we will develop dementia symptoms in old age. Hoarding is a pretty minor % of these issues but it makes a "good" news story.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hoarding-disorder/basics/definition/con-20031337
Lots of info on the web about hoarding.
ApatheticNoMore
6-18-14, 4:39pm
Over the past year when I take my daily walks, I have noticed the state of the house deteriorate. The lawn is two feet high, the carport and front porch are stacked to the rafters with boxes and papers.
Just the house deteriorating (say paint peeling and no repainting) and the lawn not being cut could just be lack of money which pretty easily happens to the elderly. Not the boxes so much though.
There is a big difference on the U shaped curve between a cluttered and dirty home and a "hoarder" who gets in the news. Our laws allow people to live the way they want to and makes it incredibly difficult to "help" those with mental illness. I suspect she owned her own home and unless bothering her neighbors, off the grid of help.
Unless the family is involved or the neighbors revolt, it goes on and on. We had an animal hoarder here and until she affected her neighbors with the smell, she was left to live with her cats. But when the neighborhood gentrified, it took the police, animal care and control and the health department to take action. Lots of time and money that many small communities dont want to undertake. Right now I am hoping the slight smell does not mean she is hoarding again.
I am at least happy that the increased exposure on TV to the mental issues of hoarders has made more aware of the issue.I also think of hoarding (or extreme hoarding at least) as a form of some kind of mental illness or possible dementia. I know many clutter-bugs (my sister being one of them) who hang on to stuff they don't use/and probably will never use, forever. But they are generally clean and well organized even if their stuff is piled floor to ceiling in multiple areas of their homes (like a packed garage or spare bedroom). I do wonder if the hoarder was always a hoarder or if it's something new. The latter would could probably be a sign of dementia. As a natural minimalist it's hard for me to imagine even living like a clutter-bug does, as even that seems very extreme to me. But to each his own.
From my observation (and I'm clearly not in the field of psychology, but I have seen lots of Hoarder episodes on TV--that qualifies me as an expert, right? :), it seems to be linked sometimes to a traumatic loss. So it could be dementia, but in this case it's more of a coping mechanism for dealing with loss. A lot of times, the narrative is that they were fine until they lost a husband or a child, etc. It seems like it's almost a way to hold onto the past and not deal with the devastating loss psychologically.
I can also see how people might perhaps feel "safe" from having to deal with society by literally walling yourself in where no one can enter. Or maybe it's pure depression where inertia is so strong that those little chores like washing the dishes just get bigger and bigger as the days go on and the stuff piles up.
It's sad, to be sure.
. . . Lots of time and money that many small communities dont want to undertake. ... I am at least happy that the increased exposure on TV to the mental issues of hoarders has made more aware of the issue.
I agree about the time and money. I saw on TV that where a mother and son who were hoarders in 2 different households, who had to have their properties cleaned multiple times, who had also had some kids removed from the home and put into foster care and later returned, etc. etc. actually cost the community over $500,000 for everything. And this family still was not "cured" so there could potentially be more $ in the future.
It was a pretty surprising amount of money for one family.
When we enter a burning building and discern that it is the dwelling of a serious hoarder, we are under the general instruction to back the heck out ASAP. Too great a danger of entrapment, collapse, or fall if things turn bad.
iris lilies
6-19-14, 12:31am
I suppose this is a modern disease. Before people had the opportunity to gather lots and lots of stuff, the hoarder disease would not have been fed. So I wonder at what point in history people would be able to gather enough stuff to be a serious hoarder? I guess they would have had to own their own place, and that's not possible for most until the 1800's but for the few rich folks.
Anyway, it's great that the generous taxpayers kept cleaning up the family's domiciles mentioned upthread to the turn of $500,000. AND taking care of their children when they did not.
As I slowly pack for a move (in some amorphous future), I realize I have hoarder tendencies. I tend not to buy one bar of soap or tube of paint when three would do; apparently--like some Egyptian potentate--I think I can take it with me. Add in laissez-faire housekeeping and depression, and those tendencies could easily snowball. Something to think about as I fill boxes for charity. I think I'll hoard money from now on--I can't take that with me either, but the local humane society will appreciate it.
iris lilies
6-19-14, 10:31am
I was an iris hoarder a few years ago, but learned my lesson. My very very crowded iris garden got a disease and it ran through the entire garden. Didn't kill plants but it made them very sickly.
So now I ruthlessly thin plants and if I don't have a place to put the thinnings, I compost them. It's for the good of all plants that remain, sad, but some have to go.
And in this year's garden I can see 3 groupings of lilies that are not robust this year, they are weaker than last year. They need to be thinned.
sweetana3
6-19-14, 12:00pm
My sewing room has really shown me my hoarder instincts. I have way too many quilting books, magazines, kits and my fabric stash is huge and getting old. I need to ruthlessly prune.
So out goes the patriotic fabric to the group that makes Quilt of Valor and I am going to parcel out the kits for charity quilts. So hard to do. Everything I have gotten was such a "good deal". I should let others get those "good deals". As a pledge, I have stopped going to auctions, garage sales, estate sales, etc. No more fabric store petting either.
I knew I had a problem when the room exploded into the hall and husband tripped over some junk in the hall.
My sewing room has really shown me my hoarder instincts. I have way too many quilting books, magazines, kits and my fabric stash is huge and getting old. I need to ruthlessly prune.
So out goes the patriotic fabric to the group that makes Quilt of Valor and I am going to parcel out the kits for charity quilts. So hard to do. Everything I have gotten was such a "good deal". I should let others get those "good deals". As a pledge, I have stopped going to auctions, garage sales, estate sales, etc. No more fabric store petting either.
I knew I had a problem when the room exploded into the hall and husband tripped over some junk in the hall.
That sounds familiar. "Fabric petting" leads inevitably to "fabric multiplication." I'm pruning there too. The more fabric remains, the more I feel the oppressive obligation to make something with it. I do enjoy playing with fabric, but enough is enough.
iris lilies
6-19-14, 1:10pm
... No more fabric store petting either...
This is hilarious. I love fabric stores so much, can easily spend 1 hour with no acknowledgement of the passing of time. But I don't buy a lot of fabric, just love to look at it and dram up projects.As I sit here I am looking at a roll of fabric I purchased 3 years ago for window toppers. I have the fabric, the pattern, and the basics of curtain rods. But I haven't completed the project. I like the look of bare windows so haven't felt it "incomplete" and in our house where pet hair floats and clings everywhere, it is really best not to have curtains. Yet, a little topper at the window would look nice.
ToomuchStuff
6-21-14, 12:42am
I could go either way, Hoarder or Minimalist. The reason for my hoarder tendencies is understanding stuff (and feeling comfortable with it) more then people. It isn't about coping with loss. Some of those here, do the whole hugs emoticon's and I would expect they do that in real life. I came from a non physical family, and grew up around a lot of physical stuff that isn't really appropriate for here. So when a young gal I watched growing up, tried to hug me, I would say my response was almost an autistic response. (not really comfortable with it)
If I was only around a group I really felt comfortable with, (for example at work), I tend to want to pitch the "clutter" (things that really have no business or function at work).
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