redfox
12-3-12, 3:38am
This describes my sister to a 'T'. The mom of the heroin addict son & super high performer daughter, the woman who speaks 5 languages & is an accomplished Mental Health Professional, working with individuals who are psychotic and de-compensating.
This rather freaks me out. She is aware of her chaos, but I don't actually know if she's ever named it as hoarding. Her home is so filthy that I cannot go into it and remain calm, though her actual accumulation of stuff isn't huge. It's just all broken, unusable, and filthy. It is too bizarre. She asked me to help her sort out stuff to get rid of a few weeks ago, which we did, and she cannot part with it. Broken furniture, trashed clothing, unusable mattresses, all piled up in the living room, waiting. It is so weird!
I really wonder what the family of origin root of this is. And, I wonder if I should point out the proposed new criteria, it is her field, after all, and name what I see? Oy vey.
http://unclutterer.com/2010/02/18/hoarding-disorder-a-new-disorder-in-the-draft-of-the-dsm-v/
"The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is currently under review by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals for its fifth edition (the DSM-V) before its official printing in 2013. Included in the draft of the DSM-V is a new section on Hoarding Disorder (http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=398), listing hoarding as its own diagnosis separate from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
The disorder is identified by five characteristics, the first three being:
A. Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with personal possessions, even those of apparently useless or limited value, due to strong urges to save items, distress, and/or indecision associated with discarding.
B. The symptoms result in the accumulation of a large number of possessions that fill up and clutter the active living areas of the home, workplace, or other personal surroundings (e.g., office, vehicle, yard) and prevent normal use of the space. If all living areas are uncluttered, it is only because of others’ efforts (e.g., family members, authorities) to keep these areas free of possessions.
C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (including maintaining a safe environment for self and others).
This rather freaks me out. She is aware of her chaos, but I don't actually know if she's ever named it as hoarding. Her home is so filthy that I cannot go into it and remain calm, though her actual accumulation of stuff isn't huge. It's just all broken, unusable, and filthy. It is too bizarre. She asked me to help her sort out stuff to get rid of a few weeks ago, which we did, and she cannot part with it. Broken furniture, trashed clothing, unusable mattresses, all piled up in the living room, waiting. It is so weird!
I really wonder what the family of origin root of this is. And, I wonder if I should point out the proposed new criteria, it is her field, after all, and name what I see? Oy vey.
http://unclutterer.com/2010/02/18/hoarding-disorder-a-new-disorder-in-the-draft-of-the-dsm-v/
"The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is currently under review by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals for its fifth edition (the DSM-V) before its official printing in 2013. Included in the draft of the DSM-V is a new section on Hoarding Disorder (http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=398), listing hoarding as its own diagnosis separate from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
The disorder is identified by five characteristics, the first three being:
A. Persistent difficulty discarding or parting with personal possessions, even those of apparently useless or limited value, due to strong urges to save items, distress, and/or indecision associated with discarding.
B. The symptoms result in the accumulation of a large number of possessions that fill up and clutter the active living areas of the home, workplace, or other personal surroundings (e.g., office, vehicle, yard) and prevent normal use of the space. If all living areas are uncluttered, it is only because of others’ efforts (e.g., family members, authorities) to keep these areas free of possessions.
C. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (including maintaining a safe environment for self and others).