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1. Garbage Is Gold: The Lack of Awareness of Compulsive Hoarding By Carine Chan Place Cartier Adult Education Centre Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 1

2. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 2 Outline • Introduction Thesis: Due to popular television shows such as “Hoarders”, compulsive hoarding has become a hot topic issue in today’s society. However, compulsive hoarding is still largely misunderstood by general public. • 1st Main Point: Hoarder’s lifestyle A) Typical life of a hoarder B) Reasons why people hoard C) Consequences & social influence 2nd Main Point: Psychological Factors A) Signs & symptoms B) A hoarder & a collector C) Medical condition 3rd Main Point: Biological Factors A) Behaviour B) Types of animals C) Differences & similarities to human hoarding • Conclusion

3. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 3 Abstract “One person's trash is another person's treasure," or so the old saying goes. However for certain individuals, it is nearly impossible for them to distinguish the difference between trash and treasure. This problem is a prominent and complex mental disorder that has recently gotten a lot of attention in today’s media. It is featured in popular television series such as “Hoarders” or “Hoarding: Buried Alive”. This condition is called compulsive hoarding and it usually begins early in life during teen years, but doesn’t become severe until adulthood. These individuals find it difficult to get rid of items that would usually be considered useless or invaluable. They keep accumulating more and more items without even noticing until their home is completely cluttered and even restricts them from basic everyday activities. Compulsive hoarding can lead to not only major health risks but also social and family problems. Despite the recent media coverage on hoarders, it is still considered a hidden disorder. Raising awareness and educating the general public on hoarding is essential to help the hundreds of hoarders suffering around the world.

4. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 4 Keys Facts • Mental Disorder • Clutter • Animal behaviour • Depression • Anxiety & stress • Emotional attachment • Indecisiveness • Traumatic loss • Hidden illness • Survival mechanism

5. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 5 Significance • Historical Hoarding has been a hidden condition for years. Traditionally, it has been classified as an early symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). However over the last decade, many researches have been made and interest in this illness has increased dramatically. • Social & Cultural This psychological condition has recently been shown in television series, online sources and websites, and books. All of this media coverage has raised a great amount of awareness about hoarding among the general public. As a result, more hoarders feel like they are not the only ones fighting this mental health problem. They are also now more comfortable with their hoarding tendencies and are not ashamed to seek out for professional help. • Scientific Compulsive hoarding can now be considered as its own complex and serious illness. A few treatments have been discovered but due to its recent recognition, there is no straightforward and simple solution. Research into the causes and effective treatments for hoarding are still being made.

6. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 6 1st Main Point: Hoarder’s lifestyle • Most hoarders are unaware of the severity of their hoarding problem and will not notice the symptoms until it is too late. Some will even live alone in their cluttered home and will continue going unrecognized for numerous years. It is eventually the concern of the person’s family or friends who take the initiation and seeks out for professional help. The lifestyle of a hoarder is more troubled then it may seem. There are many reasons why these individuals feel the need to hoard such as emotional attachment, perfectionism, or the lack of ability to make decisions. As a result, they tend to feel trapped in a complicated and vicious circle. Hoarding’s effects can extend and overtake their lives and cause major health risks.

7. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 7 2nd Main Point: Psychological Factors • Several medical studies have concluded that it is possible to recognize the early symptoms of compulsive hoarding before the problem gets too serious and leads to a severe and chronic condition. Common symptoms are excessive clutter, the tendency to procrastinate and being unable to concentrate on simple everyday tasksdue to stress or anxiety. However, there is no way to prevent hoarding. The best way to deal, just like any other medical condition, is to seek out professional help at the first sign of a problem.

8. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 8 3rd Main Point: Biological Factors • Hoarding is not only a mental illness, but it is also a type of animal behaviour. It is the act of gathering excess food and storing them for the time when food is less abundant such as during winter time. The most common animals that hoard are rodents, squirrels, and several bird species. The behaviour of animal hoarding can be comparable to human hoarding in many different ways. They both collect items in anticipation of future use. However, this psychological disorder makes it almost impossible for the individual to throw away any of their belongings whereas animals who hoard uses these items as a way of survival.

9. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 9 Key Source #1 Parker-Pope, T. (2011, May 12). Hoarding’s Impact on Children. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com This interesting article gives new insight on the effects hoarding has on loved ones and the people around us. It describes accurately how the current media portrays this disorder and gives the readers a lot to think about. By writing this article, Parker-Pope raises awareness about compulsive hoarding being a significant issue that must be helped. “Many children of hoarders are left… with parents who seemed to value inanimate objects more than the animate ones…” “They grew up in this difficult environment and naturally came to resent it.”

10. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 10 Key Source #2 Paxton, M. (2011). The secret lives of hoarders: True stories of tackling extreme clutter. Virginia: Perigee Trade. Paxton, one of the experts on the hit TV show Hoarders, takes a close look and gives readers a more in-depth look at the everyday life of a hoarder. He thoroughly explains the dangers of this condition and gives numerous ways on how to prevent a close one from having a severe hoarding problem. This book is well written and gives good insight into the great number of cases in today’s world. “Unless someone reaches out to the hoarder, the disorder continues to grow like bacteria in a weakened body” (p. 8). “Hoarders often feel threatened, unloved, harassed, and misunderstood; family members feel rejected, ignored, or scolded; neighbors feel annoyed, unsafe, and alarmed. Nobody seems to know what to do” (p. 11).

11. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 11 Key Source #3 Steketee, G. (2010). Compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. This book compiles a large amount of recent studies that have been made on this complex disorder. It not only gives a practical-view on hoarding, but it also answers the doubts and the reasons why an individual hoards. Steketee composed a great source of a combination of real life stories and informational data. “One feature of hoarding that sets it apart from disorders such as OCD is that it can be intensely pleasurable” (p. 65) “Hoarding affords many of its sufferers the illusion of control and replaces fear with a feeling of safety” (p. 93)

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13. Running head: GARBAGE IS GOLD 13 Discussion Questions • Is there any other useful and important information on hoarders that I should have included in my research? • Do you believe that compulsive hoarding is a threat to society? If yes/no, why?