Recovering hoarders?

[Ultralight]

"warehouse of potential."

Isn't a landfill also this?

[catherine]

my house is the "warehouse of potential."

I hate to keep drawing parallels with alcoholism but one of the common problems of people who love alcoholics is they get trapped in the alcoholic's "potential" which of course never comes to fruition. Alcoholics are often extremely bright, creative, loving, kind, etc. But hanging your hopes on their "potential" will make you miserable and ruin your life.

Couldn't the same be said of the potential of hoards?

[Ultralight]

I hate to keep drawing parallels with alcoholism but one of the common problems of people who love alcoholics is they get trapped in the alcoholic's "potential" which of course never comes to fruition. Alcoholics are often extremely bright, creative, loving, kind, etc. But hanging your hopes on their "potential" will make you miserable and ruin your life.

Couldn't the same be said of the potential of hoards?

I suspect this happened to my dad. And he just said: "If you can't beat them, join them!"

I simply WILL NOT ever do that.

But... there are alcoholics who kick, stay sober, and live up to much of their potential.

[catherine]

But... there are alcoholics who kick, stay sober, and live up to much of their potential.

Yes, but that's entirely up to them. The point is, to live for the "potential" of something or someone beyond yourself is not a good strategy.

[Geila]

Yes, but that's entirely up to them. The point is, to live for the "potential" of something or someone beyond yourself is not a good strategy.

Yes, it's hard enough to tackle our own potential!

I think when we see how hard it is to create change within ourselves we can be more compassionate, respectful, and realistic of how hard it is for others to create change within themselves. Especially when that change is not self-driven.

This is why I have such tremendous respect for Chicken Lady. She is working very, very hard to create change within herself even though that change is painful. And she is taking complete ownership of her actions and choices, even though they are driven by something within her that she can't fully understand or control. Very hard work.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I don't think hoarding is greedy, because I don't think hoarders necessarily buy anymore than anyone else. This varies a lot, some do, and you see them on Hoarders with the unopened boxes from Ebay I guess. But that varies.

What hoarders do is they refuse to get rid of (by one way or other) things others do get rid of and so they might accumulate more over time (ok and some people may not even accumulate any more than anyone else, but just have an organization problem, they either need to be organized like other people with the same amount of stuff are, or own less than others).

[Ultralight]

Yes, but that's entirely up to them. The point is, to live for the "potential" of something or someone beyond yourself is not a good strategy.

Oh, I know.

[Ultralight]

Yes, it's hard enough to tackle our own potential!

I tackled my potential. It just never got up to play again after that. haha

[Geila]

If hoarding is a condition - the way depression or bulimia or anxiety is - what purpose does it serve to judge it? Asking whether being a hoarder is greedy would be like asking if a bulimic is wasteful for throwing up the food they eat. It misses the point.

[Geila]

I tackled my potential. It just never got up to play again after that. haha

Did you beat it into submission?