(Untitled)

[getmyselfabeer]

Is there a mental illness opposite to hoarding? Is there a name for it?
Are hoarding and whatever the opposite of that is called OCD related? Do you have any experience with this 'opposite condition'?

Comments

[maideleh]

There was a blogger I used to read... she's taken her blog down now, I believe. She was an obsessive minimizer. She did things like throw away all her children's clothes and toys and limited them to two changes of clothes each, a single pair of shoes, and only allowed them to play with "real" things.

Like, instead of a toy kitchen she would only let them cook real food... and they had to do it well or they weren't allowed to do that any more. She had this giant house and it was practically empty. And then she decided it was STILL too much and they sold the house and took the kids off to drive around the country in a camper with nothing but a change of clothes each or something.

It was actually really frightening to watch how she progressed... my armchair psychiatry was pinging at manic episode (I'm bipolar and she certainly reminded me of myself...). I worried\worry about her kids...

[getmyselfabeer]

That reminds me a lot of myself too. Im not really at an 'extreme' stage of throwing things away at the moment but having 'stuff' constantly stresses me out and every day after work I find myself piling up more and more for charity. I dont think i'll ever have too little I just dont want it to take over my life.

[cindyanne1]

I do this too. I think it's one of my worst fears that I'll be buried in stuff. I've gone through the belongings of two grandparents that were just so bad... I mean, why keep all of that stuff? Why?

[eleven_eleven]

That's fascinating. Too bad her blog's gone. I've never heard of such a thing.

[tma]

I guess she considered the blog to be clutter and threw it out.

[getmyselfabeer]

Again, I regularly delete my photography portfolio, because I also consider it clutter.

[lily_bloodrose]

photographs aren't taking up space, go ahead and leave them, you will possibly want them one day

[wristtattoos]

i do this as well. i clean out my computer regularly...just the idea of pictures taking up space makes me a little uneasy.

[shehangbrightly]

I'm struggling with that myself although I'm not as extensive as that blogger.
I realized very recently via some warnings from a therapist and other people that I show absolutely no feelings when it comes down to discarding things that are significant including my old journals, diaries and photographs. I just freaked out one day and ripped up 10 years worth of journals and had no real reaction to it.
I only have essentials in my apartment currently. I get panic attacks when I purchase things and don't like to eat in front of people. I'm still going through therapy to figure that shit out but I don't have a real definition for it yet.

[getmyselfabeer]

So many of everyones comments reminds me perfectly of myself.
Last week I shredded 7 years worth of paper journals without a second thought.
Its interesting that you have therapy for that. I'd like to talk to someone pro about it but didnt think they'd take on something like this.