Jessica's Blog
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Obsessive Compulsive? Maybe. Maybe Not.
I was reading an article this morning, I don't usually read articles related to medical anything, but this one caught my eye. It was about people who are compulsive "hoarders". Not people that just save some things (come on, everyone does that), but people who will practically bury themselves in their house with junk. People who are truly afraid of throwing someting out, not matter how obvious it is to another person that they will NEVER need it. These "doctors" will actually dedicate their career (or a portion of it) to understanding why someone is a true, dedicated pack rat. It's amazing what people will study.
They do brain scans, compare brain waves, and even compare all of the 23 (I think it's only 23!) chromosomes in the DNA of so many people. With tons of different behavior studies, psychologists and psychiatrists and so on trying to figure out why these people are so obsessed with "hoarding" stuff. Why they feel they have to save every little thing because "they might need it". They want to know how to "help" these people out of what is to them, a disorder. It is a disorder, in a respect, but they are looking in the wrong place for the answer.
I think what kept me reading this "why are they a pack rat" article anyway is I wanted to see what words would be mentioned. Words like "fear" and "control". I think the word "fear" was used, but not in the context I was looking for. The best reason they had so far is that part of issue is genetic. Oh fine, there's something new; they have a nut for a relative.. that must be what the problem is. They have a degree to say something like that?
I have known, and still know, people that were/are pack rats. They had to save every little thing. Their house became unusable because of how they lived. Every corner, every square inch of floor was covered with stuff that should have been put in file-13 a LONG time ago. Stuff stacked to the ceiling. They could no longer sleep in their own bedroom it was so filled with junk. Personally, I never looked to see if the bed was even visible.
I never considered them to have a disorder though that needed to be analyzed by a scientist. We knew what the problem was. Their "stuff" made them feel safe, made them feel they were in control. It's like that verse in the Bible, how we shouldn't store up earthly treasure... because our treasure is in heaven. But they don't know that. I believe that these people, in the back of their minds, think that all of this stuff you can collect on earth is going to save them, or keep them safe for now. Because, really, if you don't want to believe in God, something has got to keep you safe, right?
I know others (let's be honest, these people are scattered about all over the place like a disease), they may still be little clutter-buggy, but their security is not quite coming from how much stuff they have, but more from how much it's worth. Money makes them feel safe, valuable things make them feel safe. A good job makes them feel safe. They could never ever give those things up, because goodness gracious, what if something goes wrong!? There is no possible way for them to trust something they can't see, and that's God. For something to be safe, it has to be visible and tangible. There is no "minds eye" for them, they have to put their trust in something that they can see... and for some, this is taken to a height labeled "hoarding".
I'm not a scientist, but those people that were being analyzed, I bet not one of them was a true believer.
They do brain scans, compare brain waves, and even compare all of the 23 (I think it's only 23!) chromosomes in the DNA of so many people. With tons of different behavior studies, psychologists and psychiatrists and so on trying to figure out why these people are so obsessed with "hoarding" stuff. Why they feel they have to save every little thing because "they might need it". They want to know how to "help" these people out of what is to them, a disorder. It is a disorder, in a respect, but they are looking in the wrong place for the answer.
I think what kept me reading this "why are they a pack rat" article anyway is I wanted to see what words would be mentioned. Words like "fear" and "control". I think the word "fear" was used, but not in the context I was looking for. The best reason they had so far is that part of issue is genetic. Oh fine, there's something new; they have a nut for a relative.. that must be what the problem is. They have a degree to say something like that?
I have known, and still know, people that were/are pack rats. They had to save every little thing. Their house became unusable because of how they lived. Every corner, every square inch of floor was covered with stuff that should have been put in file-13 a LONG time ago. Stuff stacked to the ceiling. They could no longer sleep in their own bedroom it was so filled with junk. Personally, I never looked to see if the bed was even visible.
I never considered them to have a disorder though that needed to be analyzed by a scientist. We knew what the problem was. Their "stuff" made them feel safe, made them feel they were in control. It's like that verse in the Bible, how we shouldn't store up earthly treasure... because our treasure is in heaven. But they don't know that. I believe that these people, in the back of their minds, think that all of this stuff you can collect on earth is going to save them, or keep them safe for now. Because, really, if you don't want to believe in God, something has got to keep you safe, right?
I know others (let's be honest, these people are scattered about all over the place like a disease), they may still be little clutter-buggy, but their security is not quite coming from how much stuff they have, but more from how much it's worth. Money makes them feel safe, valuable things make them feel safe. A good job makes them feel safe. They could never ever give those things up, because goodness gracious, what if something goes wrong!? There is no possible way for them to trust something they can't see, and that's God. For something to be safe, it has to be visible and tangible. There is no "minds eye" for them, they have to put their trust in something that they can see... and for some, this is taken to a height labeled "hoarding".
I'm not a scientist, but those people that were being analyzed, I bet not one of them was a true believer.
posted by ~*~Jessica~*~ at 12:04 PM
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