When​ Possessed, Rebecca Falkoff’s cultural history of hoarding, came through the letter box, I put it on my desk next to a pile of other books, a tangle of wires left out after an unsuccessful search for a phone charger, a small pocket microscope, a broken reading light, a carrier bag full of travel adapters, a sheaf of loose papers, a selection of penknives, a pair of speakers, the jawbone of a pike, an ancient box of cigars, a blown pigeon egg, a spool of fishing line, several harmonicas, a roll of solder, a broken toy steam engine, the shell of a sea urchin, the tail feather of a ring-necked parakeet, a transparent padlock for practising lockpicking, three empty mugs and a shrivelled apple core.

This is a complex issue, and it’s important to understand that hoarding is not just about having too much stuff. It’s a complex mental health condition that can have a significant impact on a person’s life. Hoarding disorder is a mental health condition characterized by difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value.

A. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the Allure of Possessions
B.

The disorder is characterized by an excessive accumulation of possessions, often accompanied by a strong emotional attachment to these items. This attachment can be to sentimental value, memories, or even a sense of security. The emotional attachment is often intertwined with a fear of losing these items, which can lead to a cycle of acquiring more possessions to compensate for the perceived loss.

* **Clutter: A Measure of Our Lives**
* **The Clutter Index:

* The author is writing in a room that is cluttered with items. * The author uses the CIR (Clutter Index Rating) to measure the level of clutter in the room. * The author places the room in level three on the CIR, which corresponds to a “standard” amount of household clutter.

He’s a collector of things that are unique, rare, or simply interesting. My father’s collection is a testament to his eclectic taste and his love for the unexpected. It’s a kaleidoscope of objects, each with its own story to tell.

This is a classic example of the denial that is common among hoarders. They often downplay the severity of their hoarding behavior, minimizing the impact it has on their lives and the lives of those around them. This denial can be a powerful defense mechanism, protecting them from the shame and guilt associated with their condition.

This is a complex issue, and it’s important to understand that hoarding disorder is not simply a matter of being messy or having a lot of stuff. It’s a serious mental health condition that can have a significant impact on a person’s life. Hoarding disorder is characterized by persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.

Hoarding Disorder: A Family Affair? Hoarding Disorder: Learned Behavior?

This suggests that material deprivation is not the primary cause of hoarding disorder. Another theory suggests that hoarding is a learned behavior, passed down through generations. This theory is supported by the research that shows a higher prevalence of hoarding in families with a history of hoarding. This suggests that hoarding might be a family trait, similar to other behavioral disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder or anxiety.

Hoarding is a modern malady. The excessive accumulation of objects was once considered a moral failure or a species of sin, but it was still thought to be fundamentally rational: in a world without much stuff, shouldn’t you claim as much of it for yourself as you could? The Old English word hordian has connotations of secrecy but not of madness or obsession. This began to change, at least in the developed world, during the industrial revolution, when cheaply produced goods became more readily available, their value detached from their utility, making it possible to amass things in a manner that appeared pathological.

## Hoarding Disorder: A Historical Perspective

The origins of hoarding disorder are deeply intertwined with the evolution of print culture and the changing landscape of collecting. The first recognition of something like hoarding disorder was **bibliomania**, a fashionable disease in the 18th and 19th centuries. This phenomenon arose from the accessibility of books during this era, fueled by the burgeoning popularity of cheap printing.

The brothers, who were both mentally ill, were unable to cope with the overwhelming amount of junk they had accumulated. The house became a testament to their inability to discard anything, a symbol of their mental illness. The Collyer brothers’ story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of hoarding. Hoarding is a mental health disorder characterized by the persistent difficulty in discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value.

Sigmund Freud himself was a hoarder, according to some accounts. **The Nature of Hoarding Disorder**

Hoarding Disorder, a complex mental health condition, involves an excessive accumulation of possessions, often accompanied by a strong emotional attachment to these items. This disorder is recognized as a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

This is a powerful idea that has implications for understanding the past, present, and future. The concept of a hoard is often associated with wealth, but it can also encompass other forms of valuable objects, such as cultural artifacts, historical documents, or even personal belongings. A hoard can be defined as a collection of items that are kept together and are considered valuable.

This is a testament to the sheer volume of work that goes into maintaining a hoard. The hoard is not just a collection of objects; it is a reflection of the owner’s personality and values. It reveals their priorities, their interests, and their aspirations. The objects within the hoard are not simply random items; they hold meaning and significance. Each object tells a story, a narrative of the owner’s life.

He had a large, imposing study with high ceilings and a fireplace, a space that had always been a sanctuary for him. But now, it was being transformed into a bedroom for his mother. This decision, while seemingly straightforward, sparked a complex web of emotions and anxieties within the family. It was a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the inevitability of aging.

‘Hoarding is unique,’ Falkoff writes, ‘because its diagnosis requires the existence of a material entity external to the patient’s psychic reality.’ Not only that: the hoard is unique because it’s both a symptom and a manifestation of the psyche that created it. When I was younger, I was embarrassed by my father’s hoard. Now I’m sort of proud of it. It speaks of his eccentricity, the range and idiosyncrasy of his interests, his admirable indifference to cleaning. It’s fecund and generative, if slightly overwhelming, like a work of art, or a stormy sea. In my father’s hoarding I now see a commitment, not to utility or beauty, but to memory, and meanings.

Listen to Jon Day discuss this piece with Thomas Jones on the LRB Podcast.