Another hoarder dies in "stuff" filled home.

[TwixVoy]

This is another by-product of our consumer-driven society; people literally drowining in their own "stuff". Just awful and sad.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/dead-woman-pulled-from-garbage-filled-skokie-home.html



A sliding-door entry in the rear of a house in Skokie where rescuers had to cut a hole in the roof to remove the body of a woman who had died. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)

Bill and Marge Focht said they only saw their elderly neighbor when she took old chairs and other discarded items that residents had put out for trash collection and dragged them into her home or yard.

"When we first moved here, she was friendly and we could talk to her," Marge Focht said today. "As the years went by -- the last 20, I would say -- it was a whole different ballgame. She became very private and didn't associate with any of us. She was very reclusive."

[ThomasQED]

1. I'm not sure it has anything to do with a "consumer-driven society"

It's a mental illness.

[rollin74]

2. +1

exactly

[HipChick]

3. The daughter lived there also?

I agree ...underlying mental disorder

[JanMichael]

6. Perhaps insane consumption for the sake of consumption is the mental illness?

To the point where one accumulates so much crap (most of it "crap" some of it just hoarded "useful" things that are kept away from those who might actually need to use them) that they are deemed ill?

Which of course would be the end point of socio-nutty disease to be a super duper part of a "consumer society"? Bigger badder bestest cheapest more more more stuff stuff stuff.

[Missy Vixen]

7. I know someone that hoards

I don't presume to be a mental health professional, but those that hoard aren't doing so because of a "consumer-driven society". There are serious, underlying reasons. It's an illness.

There are millions in this country that will never receive mental health services because they can't pay for it, or they're afraid to have it show up in insurance claims because (at least right now,) it makes you uninsurable.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

12. Most hoarders save things like old newspapers....

....used kleenexes and dixie cups......they save garbage. It's usually a mental illness of being unable to let go of the past. They attach some sort of intrinsic, emotional value to completely ephemeral items and can't throw them away.

It's not like they are drowning under piles of DVDs or big screen TV's.

[NotThisTime]

57. Seems to be quite common for those that lived through the depression - paper was a rarity...

we also know someone who is a hoarder and trust me when I say the stuff hoarded isn't stuff purchased - all paper products, boxes, bags, plastic containers from the grocery, ridiculous things.... but things that seem to matter to them.

[AnArmyVeteran]

21. Actually, that has nothing to do with their condition.

Read my other post in this thread.

[Warren DeMontague]

30. Or, perhaps you're using a known mental disorder as a springboard for an unrelated axe-grinding?

I'm sure there have been hoarders in communist countries. I'm sure there were probably hoarders in caveman times, who hoarded sticks and rocks.

[HEyHEY]

33. It's a form of OCD

[Dappleganger]

50. +1000

[TheDebbieDee]

16. You're right, it IS a mental illness.........

An illness that the general public of the US was unaware of perhaps until the creation of reality TV.

I don't know who said it but it seems to be true: Everybody is crazy.....but most of us are better at hiding it than others!

[ThomasQED]

24. You're so right

Sometimes I think about what it would sound like if I recorded everything I said over the course of one day. To myself, to animals, to inanimate objects, my half of conversations with other people... with no context and just reading the words, I'm sure I'd seem like a real lunatic.

And I promise I'm not :P

[AnArmyVeteran]

20. It has to do with fear, loneliness, loss, tragedy & loss of hope, but not consumerism at all.

[CTyankee]

I think it's a little bit more complicated. My husband likes to make "piles" of stuff.

I have to come in and reduce the piles or really ridicule him about them. It's hard to do...I'm so frustrated because it has gotten worse over the years.

No matter how hard I try I can't get enough of the "stuff" out the door...we'll have to be moved out of this house either alive or dead with somebody filling a dumpster...

[CTyankee]

56. I think it's a little bit more complicated. My husband likes to make "piles" of stuff.

I have to come in and reduce the piles or really ridicule him about them. It's hard to do...I'm so frustrated because it has gotten worse over the years.

No matter how hard I try I can't get enough of the "stuff" out the door...we'll have to be moved out of this house either alive or dead with somebody filling a dumpster...

[AnArmyVeteran]

61. There are psychological components to hoarding or accumulating.

I'm not a therapist but it seems your husband could benefit from therapy. I'm not saying this in s derogatory way, but rather to help. And it is often more effective if both spouses see the same therapist. A lot of these issues are born out of what a child went through growing up. I do know shaming someone can make things a lot worse. I wish you and your husband the very best.

[chrisa]

39. Yup. +1

[xultar]

48. [phone]

[Dappleganger]

49. It's been happening ever since there's been stuff to accumulate...

newspapers, magazines, mail, kitties and trolls.

That would be since the turn of the last century, right?

[tinymontgomery]

4. my wife's grandmother grow up during the

depression, she saved everything and had a bunch of everything, lots of shoes still in the boxes etc. We believe it was because she grew up in the depression that she saved everything.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. These stories are becoming more common lately,

sometimes with sad endings.

We've had a few like this in the area in recent months.

[Lance_Boyle]

36. *not* more common - more publicized.

There is a huge and very important difference.

[BeHereNow]

8. Long time friend of a "hoarder." It's a disorder, for certain.

Seriously, hoarders are suffering from some sort of obsessive disorder.
I've had a friend for 25 years who is a hoarder- no amount of logic
can penetrate his obsession over his "stuff."
It has literally destroyed his life and ability to work or have
a regular social life.
It's tragic really.

BHN

[Golden Raisin]

9. I think there are usually

major, under-lying, personal pschological issues which lead to the development of chronic hoarding. Consumerism doesn't help, but I doubt it's a cardinal cause.

[Renew Deal]

10. This has nothing to do with consumerism.

These people keep stuff like used diapers. It's a psychological problem.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

11. It has nothing to do with the consumer driven society

Read up on hoarding, it's a mental illness where a person literally saves their own garbage. Most are old people who end up tripping over something like cereal boxes strewn on the floor or get pinned under a pile of old newspapers.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Hoarding is a mental disease

and it has nothing to do with consumerism. It is easier if you are a hoarder, but hoarding is a mental condition.

[jkshaw]

14. You should read My Brother's Keeper

by Marcia Davenport (1954), which is a story of two brothers, finishing their life in a house stuffed to the gills with newspapers, seven grand pianos, books, trash, amazing amount of stuff. A fascinating story of a normal couple of young men lapsing into two old recluses.

Periodically through the years I read of another jam-packed house with an elderly owner dying alone and everyone appears surprised and appalled, but as mentioned here in the comments, this kind of behavior is not at all unusual, and is a disease.

[Generic Other]

31. The book was based on a true story

I still have my copy of the book somewhere. In fact I may have two. LOL.

[girl gone mad]

59. In the documentary "Grey Gardens"..

the two Edies seem to be hoarders, mostly of complete junk and wild animals.

[MichiganVote]

15. Hoarding reduces anxiety and provides people with a sense of control.

[pipi_k]

58. It does, on one hand, but on the other...

hoarders are often aware of the fact that they're hurting themselves and others and there can be tremendous guilt associated with it.

So it's a double-edged sword...

Relief with guilt and shame attached... :(

[MichiganVote]

69. And that's why they call it an addiction.

[Lisa0825]

17. I almost went there....

For about 3 years after my mother's death, I was barely functioning. I wasn't hoarding anything specific, but I was just not cleaning or organizing. I had to buy things I needed because I couldn't find the ones I already had.

I can 100% guarantee you that this has NOTHING to do with consumerism. It has NOTHING to do with greed. It has everything to do with being damaged and not thinking logically.

During my self-help period, I read a book about organizing and the author who had helped many hoarders and squalorers said (paraphrasing) that she could tell precisely when someone's life had stopped, based on the dates on the unopened mail and unread magazines and newspapers. For most (like me), something traumatic had happened around that date that caused them to stop functioning in a "normal" way.

I actually take a bit of offense that anyone would chalk it up to consumerism.... the people I met online through my recovery were some of the most sensitive and caring people I will ever meet... materialism was not a factor.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. How good you were able to recover.

I wonder what percentage of hoarders actually get well?

:hug:

[Lisa0825]

19. I don't know....

I just woke up one day and thought that I wanted to die, but I couldn't bear the thought that if I died, someone I cared about would have to deal with what I had made.

I took before pictures and brought them with me when I went to a counselor, though at that point I had already made a lot of progress... but I still feel like I am one breakdown away from falling back in. It's scary when you get a glimpse of how far one can fall.

Only one other person besides my shrink has seen those pictures.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Seems to me that your recovery is a lot like what an alcoholic goes through.

I hope you have some support so that you can continue to be well.

:hug:

[Lisa0825]

23. Not much in the way of family, but a few good friends... only one who knows.

It's very isolating, getting to that stage, and it is really hard to reconnect with society. Only a few people have been to my home since, and I am hyper aware of everything they look at when they are here. I am not sure I will ever feel like a normal person having guests in her home again. I feel much more comfortable socializing elsewhere, but my goal is to get over that eventually.

[nessa]

38. It seems to frequently be connected to grief. (nt)

..

[malaise]

43. True but the grief may be death of a loved one,

the absence of stability as a child (non-stop moving and being forced to leave things you love)and of course deprivation - fundamental economic changes affecting your way of life.

It's frightening.

[JI7]

25. it doesn't have to do with consumerism

[Th1onein]

26. My sister is a hoarder.

She lives on my property. I just gave her a thirty day notice to vacate. I am sick to death of the citations from the health department. In thirty days, if she's not gone, I will initiate eviction proceedings.

It is heartbreaking, but I just found out that, for the second time, she told the health inspector that it was MY fault, all the mess. I am so done with this situation.

[Lisa0825]

27. Have you tried to get her psychological help, rather than just demanding change? nt

[HEyHEY]

34. Get her to a doctor, she likely has OCD

I suffered from severe OCD for about seven years until I got help. I may be one of the lucky ones, but I can say I am fine now, (for the most part) so this is a situation that can be dealt with. But she needs love, support and understand while going through treatment. For me, all I did was go on meds. But there are clinics out there now that are having success.

[Dappleganger]

52. You can't force someone like this to the doctor.

They need help but you can't make them. They have to want it.

[HEyHEY]

68. Didn't say force, just try to convince her

[dsc]

28. I can't help buy notice that you haven't replied to any of the posts pointing out that

this has nothing at all to do with consumerism. Hopefully you at least read them.

[Withywindle]

29. It's not materialism or "consumerism"

I knew a girl in school, 30 years ago, whose mother was a hoarder. For the longest time, B didn't feel able to make friends because she was ashamed to invite people over.

They weren't wealthy people. They didn't shop much (small Appalachian town, where would they go?) They just never.threw.anything. away. B's position on friends changed when she hit junior high - I think maybe she was growing angry and trying to shame her family into changing. AFAIK, it never happened.

I rescued a cat I used to have from the home of a friend of a friend who was a hoarder of both trash and animals. She had MS and was a single mom with a five-year-old son. She was lonely and overwhelmed. We'd pitch in and help from time to time to make the kitchen and bathroom more sanitary at least, and she'd get really upset when we threw things away. ANYTHING.

[HEyHEY]

32. Hoarding is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Not a social disease. A friend of mine once had to watch a woman hoarder with OCD's house burned down as the poor woman had a complete breakdown watching it, she said it was the saddest thing she'd ever seen.

Her story about the hoarding and such never was put in the paper because a local social worker told her it was because of the woman's mental illness, so she opted not to include it. Too bad this Chicago outlet couldn't be as classy.

Nice to see we're now calling people "hoarders" ... a new disparaging name for the mentally ill.

[Lisa0825]

35. It can be OCD related, but it can also be related to other things, like major depression. nt

[Alcibiades]

37. Hoarding can be related to consumerism

My mom's a hoarder. Over 20 cats, and a trailer full of stuff. While it's true that hoarders fail to clean or throw things away, they also acquire the stuff to begin with, which is why the woman described here was taking away her neighbors' things on trash day.

In my mom's case, she goes to the dollar store, buys useless crap, puts it in her car, and may, when she gets home, take it out of the car and put it in her trailer. There it will sit, in the bag, on top of another bag of stuff from the dollar store, which is sitting atop a perch made of similar bags. Then the whole pile will get peed on by one or more cats.

With my mom, buying things she does not need seems to fill the void, to soothe, for a while, her depression. Then, there's this:

"We just feel this is a really tragic situation," Counard said. "If you suspect that your family has this problem of hoarding large amounts of material, then you need to let the municipality know."

And what are they going to do? I have given up ever seeing my mom again, on account of the fleas and the body lice. I understand that there's a struggle with depression, but, at some point, you have to want to get better.

[ThomasQED]

54. That's very sad.

Can you do anything about the cats? They don't deserve to live that way and having fewer of them would improve her living conditions too.

[Alcibiades]

65. Short of calling the humane society, no

I wish I could, but it would kill her. I've tried as much as I am willing to do. Five years ago, I drove four hours over to her house, spent a week cleaning her trailer from bumper to bumper, but she made very short work of returning it to a worse condition than it was before I cleaned it. Now I just talk to her on the phone, and humor her. Like the woman in this case, she has heart issues, and a long laundry list of physical complaints, some of which are imaginary, some real, and some simply the product of living in complete filth. I never mentioned the body lice or fleas to anyone in the family, because I knew it would be met with denial, insanity, outrage, etc. When my wife mentioned it to another relative (something I had told her not to do), that's exactly what happened, and she got really quite venomous in her denials. She has defense mechanisms and rationalizations a mile wide and a mile deep. Plus, she likes to call the cops on people, so I'm certain that I would have to deal with that if I had the authorities intervene in any way. If she were able to to use the energy she invests into maintaining and rationalizing her disease into fighting it, she'd be better.

She cannot get rid of the cats because they "sustain" her. Plus, even if she got rid of all the cats, she would find another cat before long, it would become pregnant, and the whole cycle would start again.

[phleshdef]

40. Er, she was 79 and died of heart disease.

As crazy as the hoarding seems to have been, I don't see any evidence that it had anything to do with her death. An elderly woman exceeding the average life expectancy and dying of the number 1 cause of death in the country is not unusual.

[tuckessee]

42. +1

But "hoarding" is such a popular buzzword that it makes her death much more sexy.


edit - typo

[dembotoz]

41. what astonishes me is the social isolation hoarding produces

my very best buddy is a hoarder

no one is allowed in her house.
she is too embarrassed.

I am allowed in on rare occasion- first time was to help her fix something
sort of an emergency and i was least threatening

Reclusive-yes her neighbors would say she is reclusive.

precipitating event??
Something happened in 2001
I have helped her do some spot cleaning and that year is evident as the start.

mental illness??
seems to be tied to depression and anxiety.

support???
She has me

[Evasporque]

44. The more you spend the more you save!!

"He who dies with the most toys wins."
"Get Stuff!"
"Never struggle with ______ and _______ _______ again!"
"It is like having a ___________ in very own home!"
"With __________ life has never been easier."

It is a compulsive disorder for sure...but compulsive hoarding behavior is steered by our commercial consumer based society.

[Dappleganger]

53. Nope.

No it's not.

[pipi_k]

62. Sorry, but that doesn't even wash

It's not about having the most stuff...competing with someone else.


I've seen people who hoarded stuff like old magazines, newspapers, and empty cans....garbage...

I once found myself on the brink of being a hoarder of chicken and turkey wishbones and ink pens. I also hoard music. And yarn.

Real hoarding involves things that are more complex than just someone wanting to have more than someone else has. It's an actual sickness.

[snooper2]

45. My question is why is it always 50+ white ladies?

?

[Lisa0825]

46. Not always.... I know some younger. nt

[Codeine]

66. You should watch Hoarders on A&E

Black, white, young, old, men, women -- all hoarders. Devastating mental illness.

[alcibiades_mystery]

47. The main assumption on this thread is that mental conditions are unrelated to social formations

In this case, the psychological condition that leads to hoarding is unrelated to the social formation of consumer capitalism.

This is a dubious assumption, at best. On what basis can we separate psychological conditions from the social formations in which they arise? Certainly, in the case of hoarding, we can say at the very least that particular features of the social environment lead to the way a condition manifests itself. At the very least. The social environment also likely serves as a causative factor in multiple kinds of mental illness. To think otherwise is to imagine a purely individualistic psychology, a body and bodily processes divorced from their social embeddedness.

The very act of saying "It's a mental illness, not a result of social factors" literally makes no sense, or imagines such a limited view of the body and psychological states as to make no sense.

[Alcibiades]

67. How right you are

When you're constantly being told that "If you buy this, you will be fulfilled," why are we surprised that it is the folks who are the most vulnerable, who feel the emptiest, who wind up incorporating this message into their behaviors? Truth be told, if not for garbage collection, most houses in advanced industrial societies would resemble those of hoarders: the consumption-intensive lifestyle of the west is sustainable only if we throw things away. The trouble is, much like a hoarder, eventually we run out of room. Reclusive elderly people have been part of our culture for a long time, and we see evidence of them in our folklore. The difference is that today they have more stuff. It's fitting that this sort of thing manifests itself in modern America as a pathological overabundance.

[Pithlet]

70. The compulsion is not in acquiring. It's in not getting rid of what they've acquired.

That is where you and others who are making the dubious connection are mistaken. It's a fundamental misunderstanding about what the condition is.

[xultar]

51. Way to fuckin twist shit. Most hoarders acquire shit by not throwing shit away

When it is really bad they often live in their own filth. Which as nothing to do with buying shit.

You make me lol @ your obvious attempt to make a political point from a mental illness. This is laughable at best at worst it is shameless and pitiful.

[Pithlet]

71. Really. THey're not being crushed under piles of IPads and Coach purses.

Or whatever else it is fashionable to tut tut about these days. I might be behind on that.

[Maru Kitteh]

55. I know it's inconvenient for your point, but hoarding is not a societal or personal failing

it is a brain disorder.

[MoonRiver]

60. Hoarding is usually based on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

People hoard things and animals. These people literally cannot stop their behavior without help.

[JonLP24]

63. I think it is more of a

mental illness than a "consumer-driven society" is what caused this.

[Liberal_in_LA]

64. "As the years went by -- the last 20, I would say " long time to be reclusive