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The psychology of stuff and things | The Psychologist
Loss And Disposal Of Our Belongings
The loss of material possessions often comes as a form of death to many, as many victims of theft or mugging feel a certain psychological loss, which is greater than the financial value of the stolen item.
Many also see the disposal of possessions as a liberating feeling full of closure and growth, as they finish a chapter of their lives and start another.
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Key Ideas
Hoarding
Severe hoarding afflicts about one in every fifty people.
Their compulsion causes the hoarders to suffer mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially. Relationships ...
Hoarding is a type of OCD
Hoarding is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Hoarding is accompanied by varying levels of anxiety and often, depression as well. Peculiar commonalities among hoarders include severe emotional attachment to inanimate objects and extreme anxiety when making decisions.
Symptoms of a hoarding disorder
Hoarding can be just a personal preference, but it can be viewed as a disorder when that behavior starts to negatively impact daily functioning. Symptoms of a hoarding disorder:
- There is difficulty getting rid of possessions, regardless of their value or lack thereof.
- The difficulty in discarding possessions is due to distress associated with getting rid of them.
- The difficulty in discarding possessions leads to clutter and compromise of living spaces.
- Hoarding creates clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning, including the ability to maintain a safe space.
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Key Ideas
Digital hoarding
Is the reluctance to get rid of the digital clutter we accumulate through our work and personal lives, to the point of loss of perspective, which eventually results in stress and disorganisati...
Recognize digital hoarding problems
How can you tell if you have a digital hoarding problem?
Think back over the last week and see if you can remember a time when you struggled to find a digital file on your phone or computer – maybe someone’s address in an email chain, or a really great cocktail you Instagrammed for posterity.
Digital hoarding and online storage
Platforms like Google Drive are “open temptations” for hoarding because they make it so easy for us to accumulate files and almost never prompt us to review them, The sense that something is retrievable if we just store it somewhere provides a false sense of security. And there’s plenty of storage available
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Key Ideas
Hoarding Isn’t About Stockpiling
Hoarding is a serious psychiatric disorder which has been witnessed by doctors for centuries, and is not some behavioural trait of otherwise normal people.
Symptoms of this...
Confusion Over Discarding
- Most people would think a hoarder would have clutter all around the house. The reality is that they have difficulties deciding on what to discard, and typically hoard their clothes, shoes, tools, household supplies, newspapers and mail.
- Hoarding disorder impacts one’s marital life, increases medical illness, anxiety and depression, makes people suicide prone and even cognitively impaired. Not to mention the problems that arise from keeping things stored for long in the basement or cupboard.
Problems With Hoarding
Apart from mental issues, hoarding increases the chances of:
- Risk of falls or tripping.
- Infestation.
- Unsafe living conditions.
- Fire.
- Lost work days.