[chosenbyone]

D

This thread was so depressing! No, really! I have sat here for the last hour and a half researching articles on-line on "pack rats" and "hoarders". The more sites I visited the more I realized that I had a huge problem. I literally have a mini department store in my spare bedroom with boxes of items still in department bags and boxes. My closets....forget about it....stuff to the ceiling with "stuff".

Perhaps, we should start an Apostolic Pack Rat Support Group! Oh, btw, I saw forty come and go and lived through it...be encouraged!

I copied a couple of articles that I found to be very enlightening.



A 1998 article in the Journal of Psychiatric Medicine called "Hoarding is a symptom, not a syndrome" that hoarding or the pack rat problem is due to the following things:

Items are viewed and perceived as valuable

Items provide a sense and feel of security

Fear of forgetting or misplaced items

Constant need to collect and keep things

Obtaining love not found in personal relationships

Fear others will take and obtain their personal information

Physical limitations, abilities, and frailty

Inability to organize and dealing with change

Self-neglect

Stressful life events

Background was poor or grew up with very little


...I believe that we are a product of our environment. The physical environment in which we spend most of our time affects how we think and feel.

...I’ve also found that the clutter in my environment negatively affect my performance. When I am surrounded by mess and disorganization, I feel more mentally cluttered, less decisive, slightly anxious and more easily annoyed.