Before I tackle hoarding as an aspect of social negligence in the social imagination, let's look at what hoarding or the mentality of hoarding is ... What is hoarding?
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, hoarding is a mental health disorder which occurs when a person has difficulty discarding items that have no apparent use or value to them. Essentially, that means a person who has difficulty discarding items that they think they need is the result of a hidden anxiety.
Now, you may say or think, "so what, who cares....why don't you just leave them alone?" Well, the retaining of these possessions results in excessive clutter and impairs the functioning of the person’s living space and, as a result, can harm relationships with others, especially those in the home or wanting to visit.
Typically, there are three reasons people save these items – sentimental value, an intended use or function, and intrinsic beauty. Although these valuations underlie the rationale for why most people save things, for people with Hoarding Disorder, the value attached to possessions is applied more broadly and experienced more intensely and can reach a point where the individual items are lost within the clutter and the individual’s worry about their possessions has overtaken their ability to live comfortably.
How is Hoarding Disorder Diagnosed?
One of the challenges of diagnosing Hoarding Disorder is that it’s rarely an independent, self-motivated decision to seek treatment. There is often encouragement or even intervention from loved ones concerned about the safety, wellbeing, and functioning of the individual. With Hoarding Disorder, there is a higher likelihood than OCD for a person to have poor insight, and that can also be a contributing challenge to proper diagnosis.
As compared to other anxiety disorders, there seems to be more shame and embarrassment related to Hoarding Disorder, with a fear of being judged by the community. This can perpetuate a secrecy around hoarding behaviors and deter individuals from seeking assistance.
In the United States, diagnosing Hoarding Disorder is based on criteria set forth by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Its current edition, the DSM 5-TR, sets forth four primary criteria for the diagnosis of Hoarding Disorder – persistent difficulty parting with possessions regardless of value, a perceived need to save items, accumulating of items that has resulted in significant clutter, and that the behavior and/or clutter are time-consuming or cause clinically significant distress or impairment in various areas of functioning, including work, school, or social life.
Who Gets Hoarding Disorder?
- Approximately 80%-90% of people with Hoarding Disorder also struggle with excessive acquisition (DSM-5-TR)
- Rates of Hoarding Disorder vary greatly due in part to a lack of self-disclosure and awareness about the disorder, but range from 1.5% to 6% (DSM-5-TR)
- Symptoms often first emerge before the age of 19, although typically do not seek treatment until their 50s, despite the clinically significant impairment often occurring by 30s (DSM-5-TR)
COMMENTARY: How is hoarding an aspect of social negligence? If you recall, the last blog post concerned the concept of negligence which is the failure to act. In the case of hoarding, the failure to act is the lack of will or mental strength to detach from material objects which possess no social value unto itself (as an object)... other than the use of it by social actors.
Hoarding is when someone, an individual, acquires things in huge quantities to be used (not always all at once) or stops using an object or possession that could be used by other social actors... thus, it become a social negligence to hoard. Which in my opinion, has a huge social impact in the social imagination. This is one of the worst social pitfalls found in all societies.
There is a question to be posed... which asks whose problem is it? Is it the individual's (the one who hoards) or is it societies? Well, that is the same question we can ask about all social pitfalls... whose to blame. Since, its an anxiety, its likely to be categorized by psychologists as an personal attribute stemming from a lack of correct social engagement. In saying that, it becomes the problem for social psychologists and sociologists like myself. We must address the cause and solution.
I recommend, stable family life, whereby parents set an example of simply frugality and sustainability of personal and family items and all other possessions including the home containing all things basic and necessary for a satisfactory life. This life should be lived in a stable community which embraces the same attitude.
Largely, my criticism is that Americans have too much and out of guilt they refuse to let go of things that they no longer need or ever needed is more likely the case. Take a look around, logistic centers, corporate and private are everywhere... I am not saying that people should live on basics, but they should be happy with basics and limit their excessive luxury lusts for more.
Sounds like a communist point of view... perhaps. Whatever to say, I strongly think that capitalism is fundamental, if it remains local; that is, in the hands of the people in the place where they are. Thus, such local control (in the hands of the people and condition of local logistics) would naturally regulate the gluttony of products we see today across the country and in our ports and thereby, ease the social negligence of hoarding.
But, you may say inasmuch as that is to be taken seriously into consideration... I am not truly addressing the problem or root cause of the said mental health issue of 'hoarding' which stems from acute anxiety regardless of the political environment.
Yes, hoarding is the result of anxiety and thus is a mental health disorder. Anxiety involves persistent and excessive worry in the mind of an individual so much so that interferes
with daily activities. This ongoing worry and tension may be accompanied by
physical symptoms, such as restlessness which gives way to more hoarding. And, this may not be directly related to politics or economics. But, maybe hoarding (the result behavior from anxiety) can stem from negative experiences within certain social frameworks given the amount of security or 'promise' that is ingrained or written into certain systems.
Maybe, the answer is that people don't feel secure in the place where they are and therefore hoarding makes them feel secure. Could their social imagination be damaged by family dysfunction? Or perhaps by being trapped by a lack of positive social interaction over time in a secure environment?
Could hoarding be solved by any larger imposed political system? Rather not... I hardly doubt that an extensive study of communism could show such a system providing the necessary feeling of security needed to assure hoarding is not to be practiced. Nor would such a study prove that such an ism would guarantee a sense of security that it would eliminate anxiety in citizens nor could it be proven to solve the problem hoarding period.
On the other hand capitalism would certainly give people a reason to be productive and start acting and or start behaving that would be beneficial for their own good rather than depending on the state... which at the end of the day gives so few basics, one would probably start to hoard out of fear (increased insecurity) of never having...
Please post your comments on this topic below if you know a hoarder and what solutions were put forward.
Online source:
https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/hoarding-basics
