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And you think your mom is crazy.


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QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Jun 12, 2005 -> 09:17 PM)
I think it is OCD...hoarding.

 

That's as much as I remember from my classes, but maybe ChiSoxy knows the better term...

Not my specialty, but after sitting through countless presentations by labs whose specialty is OCD, I'll say a something small.

Hoarding can often by seen as a sign/symptom of OCD, but it might also be a different type of disorder. The heart of OCD is that the patient KNOWS what they are doing is irrational (checking doors, stoves, cars, washing hands, whatever)--so with OCD they know that what they are doing doesn't make sense. But they feel compelled to do the checking (the compulsion) to reduce the anxiety caused by the obsession. It sounds like the hoarding for this lady is different because she argues that they all have "value" (that it sounds like she tells her kid frequently) also that she doesn't open them makes me think not OCD but a beast of a different color. Definitely an anxiety disorder, but no idea of the actual label.

Alas, my psych degree/grad school entails almost no clinical courses (although I view that as a positive thing...).

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Well I did some research and found that she probably has CHD or Compusive Hoarding Dissorder. She also has a case of paranoia (since she is convinced prisoners are going to steal her identity. The most telling sign is the perscription labels.) This woman should get help immediatly.

 

Compulsive Hoarding

 

Compulsive hoarding is a complex psychological disorder that can significantly disrupt a person's life. Hoarding occurs when a person acquires and saves possessions that have either little or no value (or have some perceived value), and the person then has great difficulty in discarding their possessions. This usually results in clutter.

 

Hoarding behavior can often lead to other problems.  Often associated with OCD, OCPD and depression, hoarding can affect people's lives across all levels of functioning, It is common for hoarders to have interpersonal difficulties, family tension, poor self-esteem, poor social skills, weak decision-making skills, occupational issues, and even legal issues.  In addition, there are physical risks, such as falls and fires within the home environment.

 

The following are some common characteristics within compulsive hoarding:

 

1. Saving or collecting continues beyond what is needed or of use. CHECK

2. Avoiding throwing possessions away, or experience high levels of anxiety when discarding items. CHECK

3. Having significant clutter at home, often to the point where pathways need to be made to walk around. DOUBLE CHECK

4. Functional spaces are lost due to clutter. For example, can not sit on chairs or use tabletops because possessions occupy those areas. Socializing is curtailed or eliminated. CHECK

5. Value of uniqueness is attached to items that others do not find valuable, such as papers, containers and food items. CHECK

6. Strong emotional connections are formed to the extent that and individual feels a sense of safety or comfort. I don't know enough about the situation for this one.

7. Feeling suspicious of other people touching possessions (or throwing them away). Same as 6 but I'd probably say CHECK

8. Feeling overwhelmed and/or embarrassed by possessions. Apply 6 and 7

9. Others perceive belongings as bothersome and/or dangerous. CHECK

 

 

This guy should seek help for his mother immediatly, she is a danger to herself and all those around her. Instead of just moving out of the house and forgetting about her he should be trying to get her some help. If he doesn't there is a good chance she will end up killing herself, either accidently with a box falling on her, a fire, falling over something as she appearantly already has or any other number of things that can happen or she could end up commiting suicide do to the depression that goes along with this dissorder.

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QUOTE(Nokona @ Jun 13, 2005 -> 01:28 AM)
I wonder if he's sitting on a goldmine.  Christ imagine how much you could sell all that s*** in there for.

did you look at those pictures?

there is nothing there worth value, nothing.

except those pretty glass balls :lol:

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QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jun 13, 2005 -> 11:11 AM)
did you look at those pictures?

there is nothing there worth value, nothing.

except those pretty glass balls :lol:

She has like 3,ooo boxes in the house that have never even been open. Who knows what the f*** could be in those boxes.

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QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 13, 2005 -> 11:23 AM)
She has like 3,ooo boxes in the house that have never even been open. Who knows what the f*** could be in those boxes.

lesson learned: nothing on ebay is ever worth anything. :P

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My parents live in a 5-bedroom house with a full basement and two garages. One of the bedrooms is full of stuff and the other 3 (not including theirs) are about half full. They are still usable as bedrooms and you can walk around them and see the floor and stuff. Not nearly as bad as the picutres shown on that site…

 

The basement and both garages are pretty scary. There was one point in time that they had two cars in the one garage that hadn’t run in years. My mom and I finally convinced my dad to get rid of them and the garage was actually usable for a couple of years. It has since been filled back up again. Just a month or so ago I did manage to drag out a few boxes of my childhood toys and have been making a pretty good profit by selling them all on Ebay.

 

My only regret was that one of the cars they got rid of was a seventy-something Charger. It would have taken a lot of time and money to fix up but it could’ve been something nice.

 

As an only child, I am fearing the day my parents leave me and I am left to empty out that house all by myself...

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