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I just can't fathom choosing to live in filth. Accumulating objects that a person has trouble letting go of - that I get. But just piling things up, allowing bathrooms to be full of scum and trash and hair around the sink, toilets that have never been cleaned - that is beyond my comprehension.
But I know people who are so anal about scrubbing everything so spotless, it is just as pathological. I was once in a house where, as a test, I put my finger on a kitchen surface, and she rushed over land wiped off my fingerprint. There are people who refuse to wear anything that is "dirty", defined as no longer smelling like a dryer sheet, and they wash new clothes before they wear them.
I wonder how popular a TV show would be about a cleanliness freak, wiping down the computer keyboard several times a day. Scrubbing the inside of the trash can with Brillo pads every time they put in a new heavy-duty bag, which they take out wearing a fresh pair of rubber gloves which are discarded after every use.
I have family members who are hoarders! They are not nasty hoarders - but they have stuff stacked several feet high in boxes -- neatly labeled, lol. This is stuff like old magazines. Baby clothes that are more than 50 years old.
Current thought suggests that the propensity towards hoarding may be genetic and linked to OCD behaviors.
That is one reason I am interested in hoarding, as I think the attachment to objects -- and how one manages that attachment -- is often familial. Some of the behaviors may be learned from modeling, as well. There are studies ongoing on the subject.
But I know people who are so anal about scrubbing everything so spotless, it is just as pathological. I was once in a house where, as a test, I put my finger on a kitchen surface, and she rushed over land wiped off my fingerprint. There are people who refuse to wear anything that is "dirty", defined as no longer smelling like a dryer sheet, and they wash new clothes before they wear them.
YES! I know someone like this.
In the article I posted, it explains the likely genetic relationship between OCD and hoarding.
The person I know who is beyond rational about cleaning . . . I just have to relay this story . . .
We were all sitting in a hospital waiting room and there were magazines strewn all around. The lady I mentioned with OCD hardly walked in the room til she busily went around and gathered up all the magazines, putting them in neat stacks. She then repositioned a trash can. I observed her sitting, seeming very stressed (wringing hands, fidgeting, eyes darting) and then she just couldn't help herself, got up again and straightened up the magazines once more. Someone came in and started rifling through a stack of "her" straightened magazines and I could see how anxious this made the lady!
As soon as the person with the magazine sat down, Miss OCD stood up again, went back to the magazines and carefully sorted them all out, according to date this time!!!
I can't imagine how hard it is for her to deal with this need to have everything perfect, day in and out. It would truly be a debilitating illness.
I think either end of the spectrum - being a hoarder or being so OCD that one's environment is the enemy - would be a terrible and sad way to live. Thank goodness there is treatment, if only the person will seek help!
Last edited by brokensky; 05-31-2013 at 09:40 AM..
Reason: typo
But I know people who are so anal about scrubbing everything so spotless, it is just as pathological. I was once in a house where, as a test, I put my finger on a kitchen surface, and she rushed over land wiped off my fingerprint. There are people who refuse to wear anything that is "dirty", defined as no longer smelling like a dryer sheet, and they wash new clothes before they wear them.
I wonder how popular a TV show would be about a cleanliness freak, wiping down the computer keyboard several times a day. Scrubbing the inside of the trash can with Brillo pads every time they put in a new heavy-duty bag, which they take out wearing a fresh pair of rubber gloves which are discarded after every use.
It may be just as pathological, but the results are vastly different.
The hoarder shows make me uncomfortable. I don't watch them as entertainment. What I have seen does make me feel much better about my own housekeeping.
I just don't see how it's necessary to go through that agonizingly slow process where out of the piles of thousands of pieces of crap the hoarder has accumulated, they start by picking out one dish, holding it up for the hoarder to review, and then saying, "Now do you want to keep THIS or can we give it away???"
That's enabling. For the love of god, put the hoarder in a straightjacket if you have to and let her scream it out while you bring in heavy equipment and clean that mess up. It will be painful but she'll get over it faster.
I have family members who are hoarders! They are not nasty hoarders - but they have stuff stacked several feet high in boxes -- neatly labeled, lol. This is stuff like old magazines. Baby clothes that are more than 50 years old.
Current thought suggests that the propensity towards hoarding may be genetic and linked to OCD behaviors.
That is one reason I am interested in hoarding, as I think the attachment to objects -- and how one manages that attachment -- is often familial. Some of the behaviors may be learned from modeling, as well. There are studies ongoing on the subject.
This makes sense. It is truly a mental disorder - people don't "choose" to live that way any more that a schizophrenic "chooses" to hear voices. My SIL is a hoarder and my husband has tendencies...but he's OCD, so all of his "stuff" is neatly organized and stacked. I like to watch the shows for the same reason - I'm interested in the overall behavior - but my husband can't stand to watch it at all.
But I know people who are so anal about scrubbing everything so spotless, it is just as pathological.
I agree and have known a couple people like this, but our society is a lot more forgiving about obsessive cleanliness. We will pay people to clean out houses, but we don't pay people to mess them up, so a clean house is almost a badge of moral superiority. Plus, add to that the whole "cleanliness is next to Godliness" attitude that was popular when my mother was a child in the early 20th century, and it just isn't viewed the same way, unless the person is OCD about germs. Only then do most people see it as a problem.
This makes sense. It is truly a mental disorder - people don't "choose" to live that way any more that a schizophrenic "chooses" to hear voices. My SIL is a hoarder and my husband has tendencies...but he's OCD, so all of his "stuff" is neatly organized and stacked. I like to watch the shows for the same reason - I'm interested in the overall behavior - but my husband can't stand to watch it at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ukiyo-e
I agree and have known a couple people like this, but our society is a lot more forgiving about obsessive cleanliness. We will pay people to clean out houses, but we don't pay people to mess them up, so a clean house is almost a badge of moral superiority. Plus, add to that the whole "cleanliness is next to Godliness" attitude that was popular when my mother was a child in the early 20th century, and it just isn't viewed the same way, unless the person is OCD about germs. Only then do most people see it as a problem.
Where is this coming from? I keep seeing this (and actual HEAR people SAY it) so much lately, and it's driving me nuts.
People, someone can't "be" OCD. OCD means Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. People can HAVE OCD. They can't "BE" OCD.
I LOVE this show, but I also like to watch/learn about various disturbed people in general - sometimes I think I should've gone into psychology because I like listening to people's problems. If I'm honest though, on some level it just makes me feel better about myself, and motivates me to clean, lol. I hate cleaning and love shopping, so I can kind of understand them - I feel that if I ever for whatever reason ended up elderly and living alone, I could end up on a downhill slide. I pretty much only clean because I feel obligated to, that it's my 'job' and responsibility to my family, but if I was alone I'd probably do it way less.
I watch shows about morbidly obese people with a similar fascination, even though I'm not overweight.
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