Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things (original 2010; udgave 2010)

As someone who grew up with a hoarder parent, this book was particularly interesting to read. The authors, a psychiatrist and a social worker, interviewed many hoarders, their long-suffering family and friends. They discuss some historical cases of hoarding, examine various styles and reasonings behind hoarding, such as collecting, foraging, and rescuing. Some of the interviewees are aware that they have a problem with their collections covering all the surfaces in their homes, while others proudly show their collections to the authors. In the first chapter, hoarding is acknowledged to be “composed of a number of discrete factors, some well hidden and expected. But the most obvious factor was the simple problem of accumulation.” They discuss findings from their own interactions — that a sense of emotional attachment drives many hoarders.

The thing that fascinated me the most about this book was that I found myself drawn along into some of the hoarders’ reasoning before realizing that was probably the same path they traveled. I have been guilty of stockpiling, of keeping pieces of something that might be useful later, of storing away scraps of newspapers and magazines; yet this book takes a deeper look at the abnormal extension of these seemingly harmless behaviors, as well as looking at some of the medical research which has been trying to explain why this happens. ( )

Very interesting look at a metal and social illness. Unlike the tv shows on this topic, the book was more of a psychological study and much less manipulative/exploitative. The authors delve showcase a number of stories and patients, showing how different people react and function on a daily basis. They also follow their patients for years as opposed to days, giving a better picture of the illness and recovery. I also appreciated the detailed explanations on possible genetic links, similarities to other illnesses (such as OCD), and why certain types of therapy are more effective. This book gave me a much better understanding of why the people on Hoarding shows act the way they do and how much of what they suffer is linked to anger, sadness, grief, denial, and avoidance of any type of distress. ( )

The authors are psychologists who were the first to really study hoarding behaviour. This tells of some of the psychology of hoarding and presents many case studies of people they worked with. Hoarding is usually associated with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), but the authors feel that it should be its own category.

People who hoard show different symptoms of different mental health disorders, including OCD, perfectionism, anxiety, and more I’m forgetting. People have different reasons they present for not wanting to get rid of their things, including not wanting to be wasteful, growing attached to their belongings, and more. Their families are affected. The case studies in this book include children of hoarders and how they are affected, as well as children who are, themselves, hoarders. One chapter also looks at animal hoarding.

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. ( )

I thought there'd be more on the "meaning of things" part than half a chapter at the end. A bit disappointed with how dry it was.

And the case study on the gay man who "hoards" clothes just seemed very out of place, and the author used unnecessary differences to describe the guy he didn't use on anyone else (like, "his fluttering gestures," "his penchant for pink," etc). Kinda grossed me out. ( )

Review by Family Resource Centre staff, Jessica: "This book was an unexpected page-turner!"
STUFF is filled with vivid person-centered case stories of those suffering from hoarding in all walks of life, often from the congested urban streets of Manhattan. The author's manner of writing is rich in detail, crafting realistic personalities and environments, keeping the reader hooked and intrigued to learn more. The vignettes take centre-stage, while the science, research discoveries and history of hoarding unfolds alongside, story-by-story. The people in the stories are presented from a very human perspective, capturing the emotion, uniqueness and mindset of each individual presented. Relationships and the impact to families and friends are portrayed in a realistic manner, illuminating the frustration experienced by children of hoarders, their partners or spouses, their social workers, and the community at large. Frost does a great job of investigating the 'why' of hoarding without coming off as overly medical or presumptuous, but instead investigating various influences such as genetics, evolution, upbringing, trauma and most interestingly, giftedness. The authors draw eye-opening ties between OCD, visual sensitivity and hoarding, and offer interesting cases of hoarding patterns in children. Each story comes to life because the authors personally spent a significant amount of quality time with each individual, able to see and describe the environments and objects first-hand, capturing the nuances of each person's personality, and where possible, provide follow-up with the outcomes of intervention years later.

It's important to note that this book is *not* a guidebook on how to overcome hoarding compulsions. It is more narrative and informational in style. Nevertheless, there is plenty to learn from, offering insight to how hoarding is experienced in our modern day, material society. ( )