By the end of Oprah today, it was clear that there had to be some hidden causes of Compulsive Hoarders Disease. They are going to be tackling that tomorrow, I can’t wait to see what they come up with. A few theories arose for today - empty nest syndrome, loss of loved ones. But what is the issue behind that?
Have you got a theory?
I have a few. I thought of empty nest syndrome right away myself. I wonder if there are any stats on that. But everyone with empty nest does not ruin their home with “stuff”. It is a time when things should have been a piece of cake with grandchildren to enjoy.
What do I think it is?
Loss of control. Not control of wanting things, but loss of control of your life. So you hide. You tune out. And in the meantime, while your walking around like a shell, things are piling up. You are doing things to try to put the life back into you, like hoarding and collecting. To make you feel in control but it only lasts for a minute.
That is my theory on the causes of compulsive hoarders disease on the show today. I suspect there are many but you know what I’m thinking it all boils down to?
Fear. Fear in one form or the other.
Fear that we aren’t “here” now. Fear that we won’t be in the future. Fear that we aren’t good enough, so we hide behind our mess. Fear of loss. Fear of abandonment. Fear of being alone. All the stuff somehow could make a person feel more substantial. Of course the irony is that for every fear compulsive hoarding is trying to erase, it only makes worse. And these people know it the whole time but don’t know what else to do. For some of them, they will never know.
And how do they get that way in the first place. Everyone has a story.
Do you have any theories about the causes of compulsive hoarders disease?
I would love to hear them. We will be getting more insight on tomorrow’s show I’m sure.
David F. Tolin was a guest on the show.
He has made a career of helping compulsive hoarders to
a better life and proved to be extremely insightful and
interesting to listen to.
Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding
the reward.
