Negative Consequences Of Hoarding: Buried Alive

Introduction There are many people suffering from hoarding disorders. Even though some people view hoarding as a personal issue that an individual has, it is a mental disorder. Today shows such as “Hoarding: Buried Alive” have brought attention to this disorder that many still do not understand. Hoarding disorder is characterized by persistent difficulty in parting with possessions, resulting in severely cluttered living spaces, distress, and impairment (Solomon & Mataix-Cols, 2014, p. 2023). The behavior that a hoarder displays can cause negative consequences to their lives. Hoarding can cause physical, emotional, financial, legal, and social problems for hoarders. These effects can also negatively impact a hoarder’s family as well.
The disorder that is known as hoarding today was once labeled the Collyer Brothers syndrome. The New York Times reported a story on March 22, 1947 titled “Homer Collyer, Harlem Recluse, Found Dead at 70” (Herring, 2011). After being tipped anonymously, the police found Homer Collyer’s corpse and days later discovered the body of his brother Langley buried beneath mountains of materials. Langley Collyer’s body had been crushed to death by stacks of bundled newspapers. According to Herring (2011) over one hundred tons of material from grand pianos to many pinup posters were found inside the home; the home was condemned and later named Collyer Brothers Park. During the time that the Collyer’s lived hoarding was seen as eccentric and was ridiculed. Hoarding has also been called pathological collecting, syllogomania, collector’s mania, and chronic disorganization (Herring, 2011). Randy Frost, a clinical psychologist, and Gail Steketee, a social worker worked together for years to have hoarding legitimately declared as a mental illness. Today a cultural shift and the diagnosis of mental disorder, people with hoarding disorders are able to be treated for mental illness instead of being casted