Week of July 31, 2002
(Originally aired August 12, 2002)

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When does enough become too much? And why is it so hard for compulsive savers to know the difference? This show looks at hoarding, which involves the accumulation and inability to throw away unneeded possessions, to the point that a home may become so filled with stuff that furniture and rooms can no longer be used for their intended purposes. Guests include Dr. Randy Frost, a pioneer researcher in the study of clinical hoarding and Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, a neurobiologist who is pinpointing where in the brain the problem seems to originate. Author Denise Linn, addresses non-clinical forms of hoarding with tips on how to recognize -- and get rid of -- clutter.

Host Dr. Fred Goodwin begins with an essay about his own recent experience in coming to terms with getting rid of clutter. While his story is not an example of clinical hoarding, he notes that it bears a resemblence to some of the stories we'll hear later in the program. He needed someone else's help in assessing and getting rid of what he didn't need -- old magazines, out of date text books, etc -- and he had to overcome thoughts of how the material really might be useful someday ("What if I might someday want to write a history of psychiatry? etc."). For awhile, he compromised by stashing the clutter in his garage, but when his township's yearly "take it away free" day rolled around, he finally threw it out for good. Looking around the now empty garage he felt a sense of accomplishment and relief. "Now the car could fit!" While clinical hoarding falls in the more severe end of the spectrum of "saving" behavior, Dr. Goodwin notes that studying this condition throws light on more common patterns too.

Next, we hear from someone who's experienced problems with compulsive saving and cluttering since she was a child. Speaking on the understanding that she would be identified by her first name, Frances, age 70, says her clutter provides her with a feeling of security and abundance, contrasting with the great anxiety she feels when she thinks about throwing something out. Only recently did she recognize it as a possible symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which led her to get help. Frances says friends and family can help by not criticizing someone with this problem, or taking matters into their own hands. She's found that an internet list-serve for compulsive hoarders and clutterers has been very helpful to her, giving her much needed understanding and help in dealing with her problem.

Internet support groups for hoarders and clutterers include Decluttr and H/C (Hoarding/Clutter), which you can join by e-mailing its moderator. Another very active list-serve is Alt.recovery.clutter, which includes links to other groups and times and dates for local meetings across the U.S. on its FAQ page, which you can access at Alt.recovery.clutter.

For more information about hoarding as a symptom of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or to inquire about support groups in your area, log onto the web site for Obsessive Compulsive Foundation or write to Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, P.O. Box 70, Milford, Connecticut 06460. Or call them at (203) 878-5669.

Next, Dr. Fred Goodwin interviews Dr. Randy Frost, a leading researcher in the field of hoarding. Together with Dr. Gail Steketee, Dr. Frost contributed to a recent text book about Obcessive-Compulsive Disorder a chapter on hoarding and how to treat it ("Chapter 23") that many compulsive savers regard as their "bible." Dr. Frost is professor of psychology at Smith College in Northampton, Massachussetts. Dr. Frost defines hoarding as the acquisition and saving of unneeded items to the point that it causes significant distress, and says that sometimes hoarding can even preclude the use of furniture and spaces. For instance, a bed will be so filled up with things there's no room for someone to sleep on it. Or the hoarder will be unable to use the kitchen because the stove is covered with things and even the oven is full of things being saved. Hoarding is most often associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which is an anxiety disorder. The anxiety is kept at bay as long as the compulsive saver avoids even thinking about throwing things out. Hoarding behavior is on a continuum, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Getting in the way of being able to organize and throw things out are problems in sustaining attention, categorizing possessions, a reliance on visual cues to trigger memory ("out of sight, out of mind"), and difficulties in making decisions. Interestingly, Dr. Frost says that the anxiety people experience in discarding items is often short-lived, citing one woman who wept about a book but was fully recovered from her grief about five minutes later. Treatment, he says, can help a hoarder learn to tolerate this kind of anxiety.

Taking a call from a listener who has this problem, and is concerned that she may pass it on to her daughter, Dr. Frost says that people who hoard often have a close relative who also has saving problems, but it's unclear whether this is the result of genetics of modelling. In response to another caller, Dr. Frost notes support groups can be effective in helping their members overcome this problem, and says that groups that move from house to house seem to be among the most effective. A third caller asks about behavioral therapy for hoarding. Dr. Frost recommends that helpers or "coaches" NOT take it on themselves to throw things out. Dr. Frost also recommends that in a de-cluttering or "excavation" session, one should target a particular area and/or type of possession, for instance "books on the kitchen chairs." Assign the things to a very limited number of categories, for instance "books to throw away, books to sell, and books to put on the shelves." Coaches can help to sort and categorize, but the person with the hoarding problem should themselves make the decisions to discard.

To reach Dr. Frost you can write him at Smith College, Detartment of Psychology, Bass Hall 307 Northampton MA 01063 or e-mail him at RFrost@science.smith.edu

Next, The Infinite Mind's Devorah Klahr visits the home of Jeff, a creative director at a major advertising firm. He's had problems with compulsive saving all his life, he says, and his parents also had problems throwing things out. Recently Jeff came across a "to-do" list from 1980. At the top of the list "Get rid of half my possession by the end of the year." More than 20 years later, Jeff is ready to tackle the task -- with a little help from a friend. He asks his friend Jane to help him tackle his apartment. While he's at work, she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work, throwing out dusty magazines, paperwork from jobs he finished decades ago, etc. and consigning other possessions to boxes for charity or for Jeff to review. When he comes home, Jeff says he is fighting a war between two parts of himself. There's the part that want to keep it -- "all of it!" -- as a reminder of past triumphs he wants to enjoy. And then there's the part that wants to let go and move on. Looking around his de-cluttered apartment, he says it will take an adjustment, but he'll get used to it. "It's like a hair cut," says Jeff. His friend adds "Except we don't want it to grow back!"

Next, Dr. Goodwin interviews Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, Director of the Obsessive-Compuslive Disorder Research Program at the Unviersity of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Saxena points out that hoarding behavior is found in people with anorexia, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and among people with mental retardation, but that most often it's associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. OCD has several different 'clusters' of symptoms, each of which seem to have different genetic components, responses to drugs, and demand individual treatment protocols. He is conducting a study that is using neuro-imagery to understand the structural and functional characteristics of the obsessive-compulsive brain. The study is still underway, but preliminary data suggest that people with OCD who hoard are more likely to have mild atrophy or an unusual shape to their frontal lobes, which is the part of the brain associated with executive functions and decision-making. Another indication of hoarding's uniqueness within the OCD diagnosis is that medications that treat other symptoms of OCD are less effective in treating hoarding. Pharmacologically, Dr. Saxena says he often uses a combination of a stimulant (such as Ritalin) to sharpen attention, and an anti-depressant seratonin re-uptake inhibitor. In conclusion, Dr. Saxena points out that the public needs to understand that hoarding is a common problem, and is treatable, through a combination of medication and therapy.

To contact Dr. Saxena, write to: Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, University of California at Los Angeles, 300 Medical Plaza, Suite 229, Los Angeles, CA 90095. To learn more about his work, call (310) 208-4071 or visit the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder page on the UCLA website.

While clinical hoarding represents one end of a spectrum of saving behaviors, most people have to deal -- sometimes more often than they might like -- with garden-variety, everyday cluttering. Next, The Infinite Mind's Emily Fisher interviews author and feng shui expert Denise Linn, who has helped thousands of readers and clients to clear up their homes -- and their lives. Denise Linn is the author of Feng Shui for the Soul: How to Create a Harmonious Environment that will Nurture and Sustain You and Sacred Space: Clearing and Enhancing the Energy of Your Home. Ms. Linn has more than 20 years experience in helping people to optimize the flow of positive energy through their homes and businesses using the Chinese art of feng shui. According to contemporary adaptations of this ancient art, clutter can very much impede the flow of positive energy and get in the way of almost every area of our lives. If you're having problems with your finances, for instance, Ms. Linn suggests going through all your financial paperwork and getting rid of what's out of date and un-needed. She recommends as an exercise that anyone can do, to put on some music, relax, and close your eyes. Mentally walk through your home and think about each object, picking it up, and noting your reactions. If your energy goes up, then keep it. If your energy goes down, think about throwing it away, or put it in another spot and see if you have a better reaction.

You can reach Denise Linn by writing to P.O. Box 759, Pasa Robles, CA 93447. Click here to order Feng Shui for the Soul: How to Create a Harmonious Environment that will Nurture and Sustain You or Sacred Space: Clearing and Enhancing the Energy of Your Home at Barnes and Noble.

The Infinite Mind's commentator, John Hockenberry was away this week on a book tour for his new book, the novel A River Out of Eden. He was not able to contribute commentary for this show, but will be back next week. In the meantime, click here to order John Hockenberry's A River Out of Eden at Barnes and Noble.

 

 

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