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Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things | Gail Steketee
16 posts | 14 read | 11 to read
What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper that s ever come into his home? What compulsions drive a woman like Irene, whose hoarding cost her her marriage? Or Ralph, whose imagined uses for castoff items like leaky old buckets almost lost him his house? Or Jerry and Alvin, wealthy twin bachelors who filled up matching luxury apartments with countless pieces of fine art, not even leaving themselves room to sleep? Randy Frost and Gail Steketee were the first to study hoarding when they began their work a decade ago; they expected to find a few sufferers but ended up treating hundreds of patients and fielding thousands of calls from the families of others. Now they explore the compulsion through a series of compelling case studies in the vein of Oliver Sacks.With vivid portraits that show us the traits by which you can identify a hoarder piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, houses that can be navigated only by following small paths called goat trails, vast piles of paper that the hoarders churn but never discard, even collections of animals and garbage Frost and Steketee explain the causes and outline the often ineffective treatments for the disorder.They also illuminate the pull that possessions exert on all of us. Whether we re savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, none of us is free of the impulses that drive hoarders to the extremes in which they live. For the six million sufferers, their relatives and friends, and all the rest of us with complicated relationships to our things, "Stuff" answers the question of what happens when our stuff starts to own us. "
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AllDebooks
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I'm hoping to finish the last of my NB magazine stack for August's #MonthlyMagazineBlitz @julieclair
I'm off to get a coffee before settling down with these beauties.
https://www.nbmagazine.co.uk/
Issues 100 - 103

julieclair Those are gorgeous! 3mo
26 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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Pickpick

This is a very interesting look at the psychology of hoarders. It‘s not a self-help book, though there are resources at the end. It‘s an explanation of the attempts to figure out what hoarding is and why some people struggle with it, exemplified by various cases the authors have worked on. Some fascinating stuff. I‘m curious what might have been discovered in the intervening decade.

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ravenlee
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“At age fifty-two, she found herself running through the streets of Manhattan in the middle of the night, exhausted and skeleton thin, trying to get away from her psychiatrist and the cat hoarding cult that had developed around the doctor.”

Well…that took an unexpected turn.

TiredLibrarian “...more than 200 cats she had collected and the more than 600 cats hoarded by her psychiatrist.“ ⁉️ 3y
ravenlee @TiredLibrarian apparently the psychiatrist bought a seven-story building with 15,000+ square feet which eventually became overrun with cats. 😳 3y
33 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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There is great irony in the tagged book being today‘s #bookhaul from the library discards. Up to 15 now. 😬

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LibraryCin
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Pickpick

I can see myself, just a tiny bit in some of the traits the authors present in their case studies, but I don‘t go anywhere near the extremes of people who really are hoarders. I found this so interesting

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LibraryCin
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On friday morning, march 21, 1947, the police in harlem received a call.
#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

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TaciturnWhenReading
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Remember that time when I came across that Book Warehouse that was going out of business and practically giving books away? And they even gave you a box to haul away your stacks?

That was a fun day. *sigh*

#bookhoarding #bookhaul #noshelfspace

DivineDiana So much fun! 👍🏻👏🏻📚 6y
MicheleinPhilly This is such a seriously excellent haul! 6y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Oh wow. It‘s like heaven. 😍 6y
Cathythoughts Eileen !!! Tana French !! Looking good 👍🏻♥️ 6y
TrishB Great haul 👍🏻 6y
63 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Birdsong28
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http://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/news/senior-citizen-accused-of-dangerously-hoardi...

And he is being evicted because of it!!! 😡😡😡😡 Read the article!

Becca95 That‘s absolutely disgusting treatment! He should argue then that anyone in the building who owns a book is creating a fire hazard 🙄 6y
wordzie It does not; however, I am in agreement with the fire 🔥 hazard compliance @Becca95 👍 6y
KathyWheeler Without seeing what the rest of his apartment is like, I can‘t fairly judge, but it does seem the key issues here are really that the landlord sold the building and his apartment is rent-controlled. The books are just an excuse. 6y
SmartSassery Sadly it has absolutely nothing to do with his books and everything to do with the level of greed that is celebrated in our society. 😔 I do hope he wins getting to keep his home along with his treasures and library. 6y
52 likes4 comments
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StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego
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Exactly... 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

dgingo Truth! 6y
Mitch The internet does not lie! ❤️📚❤️ 6y
SkeletonKey Phew! 6y
See All 7 Comments
Chrissyreadit ❤️📖❤️📖❤️📖❤️ 6y
emmaturi Exactly! 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks My girls will curse me when I die because of all my books!!! Oh well it could be worse 🤷🏼‍♀️ 6y
kspenmoll Yes!!! 6y
123 likes7 comments
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APLitlife
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Will someone explain this to my husband?

LizzieChantree And mine! 🤣📚📚📚📚📚 7y
AmyG How can you explain to someone who will never understand? 7y
Jessbell7164 Oh my gosh yes! Hubs is on board so yay! 7y
BookaholicNatty Ooooooo I like this!!!!!!!!!! 7y
44 likes4 comments
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shendrix413
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This was too good not to share!

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IamIamIam
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My almost 9 year old son is not only a hoarder but a compulsive piler, much like his mother! Piling, not hoarding! Lol, before Christmas, I'm finding the strength to find the top of his desk and probably lots of socks. #GiveMeStrength #valuablereadingtime #thesedamnkids

Tamra May the force be with you.💪🏾 7y
laurieluna Black bin bag. One swipe. Sorted. 😂 7y
IamIamIam @Tamra Thanks, I'll definitely need it!!! 7y
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IamIamIam @miralunasbooknook Definitely my preferred method but the fallout isn't worth it. You know how violent hoarders get when you throw out a paper!!!! 😂😂😂 7y
Tamra I‘m afraid of giving my kids any more surfaces for this reason. 😆 Right now all they have is dresser top. 7y
TheWordJar My son‘s desk looked much the same for I don‘t know how long. Then yesterday, he cleared it off himself without us asking him to! 😱 The magic of Christmas?? @miralunasbooknook Definitely the way to go! 😂 7y
laurieluna @IamIamIam yeah my partner is a hoarder of tool boxes. The mere mention of getting rid of some gets me daggers 😂 thats why they're relegated to the garage so I don't see them. Theres at least 6 that are barely a quarter full. 😬 7y
IamIamIam Hahaha, well when the zombie apocalypse comes, @miralunasbooknook, he'll be the one to build our walls!!!! 😂😂😂😂 7y
IamIamIam @TheWordJar HAHAHA, it's a Christmas miracle!!!! 🎄🎄🎄 7y
mrsamandahood Me and your 9 year old have so much in common 😂😂😂😂 7y
IamIamIam @mrsamandahood LOL, I'm glad you can relate!!!! 🤣 7y
42 likes11 comments
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Mdargusch
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I saw this on FB and I realized that book hoarding is quite common. I have a couple of family members that are in phase 8 and they have concerned spouses. 😂

Redwritinghood I'm in 8 phase and my spouse is definitely concerned! Ok, maybe only mildly concerned. 😂 8y
emilyhaldi Lol, I'm not sure if this makes my concerned spouse feel better or worse 😂 8y
julesG I'm in between Phase 8 and 9. Should I be worried? 8y
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Mimi28 I just skip from 4 to 8 over and over, lol 8y
LauraBeth @julesG I'm on phase 9 and it's a wonderfully freeing place to be! 8y
julesG @LauraBeth As long as it doesn't mean we're nearing the end, everything is fine. 8y
TheBookAddict Yep, I'm on 8 and I also dabble in 9 once in a while, but I don't give away my books I just buy a second copy and give it away. I'm too much of a hoarder of books to give them away. 8y
Reviewsbylola My husband is smart and keeps his mouth shut. Maybe he has learned after seven years of marriage? 8y
Mdargusch I think 4 and 8 go hand in hand @Mimi28 8y
Mdargusch Hopefully those phases last a long time @julesG and @LauraBeth 8y
Mdargusch I love it @TheBookAddict - that's a great idea but it doesn't make your book stash get any smaller. 8y
Mdargusch You do have a smart hubby @Reviewsbylola 😊 8y
84 likes13 comments
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Elizabeth4
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2 likes1 stack add
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Oblomov26
Pickpick

Okay finished. I understand the attraction of stuff. There is a thrill in buying some new, in getting a bargain, in scoring something for free. This book provides a sobering (terrifying) coda to this thrill, what happens when it gets out of control, when it takes over your life.

Oblomov26 The author is a psychiatrist specializing in dealing with hoarding and he examines the drive, why it is different to OCD and what this disorder can ultimately lead to. Warning some chapters should only be read on an empty stomach. 8y
7 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Oblomov26

I picked this book up cheap and it seemed like an interesting subject. It is, it is also an absolute horror story. Twice now I have literally felt my skin crawl. The tale of the cat lady whose therapist was also a cat lady *shudder*

Oblomov26 Three times....... 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Sounds good n creepy!! 8y
9 likes2 comments