The hidden disease that no one talks about: from clutter to dealing with the stigma of hoarding.
Let's face it: how many times, at the beginning of the year, we promise ourselves to clean out the clutter in our closet/garage/storage room/office? One's new year resolutions might be a bigger problem than we think... There are a lot of hidden reasons why we clutter, and justify it. Understanding our behavior is only a part of the strategy to tackle the task of decluttering head on. But at what point does an individual go from clutter to hoarding? How does it affect the life of those around a hoarder? And most importantly, how does the health of a person who is hoarding? There should't be a way to sugar-coat hoarding. It is as valid a disease as OCD and other anxiety and psychological disorders. Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, speaker at the Howell Health and Happiness Symposium on January 21st, sheds light on the compulsive behavior called hoarding. According to Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, (quoted in this article from the Washington Post last year), "...