Acquiring Things: Strange Cases of Compulsive Hoarding.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Cultural Studies
• Philosophy

Background:

• Compulsive hoarding has gained significant public attention.
• Debate exists on whether hoarding is an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) subtype or a distinct disorder.
• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) offers a medical model for hoarding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cultural and philosophical dimensions of compulsive hoarding.
• To complement the existing medical model of hoarding disorder.
• To analyze the portrayal of hoarding in literature and mainstream media.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of psychological, cultural, and philosophical texts.
• Analysis of media representations of compulsive hoarding.
• Theoretical synthesis of medical and socio-cultural perspectives.

Main Results:

• Hoarding's public fascination stems from complex socio-cultural factors.
• A purely medical model may not fully capture the phenomenon of hoarding disorder.
• Media and literature often present distorted, yet influential, views of hoarding.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive theory of compulsive hoarding requires integrating medical and cultural-cultural perspectives.
• Understanding hoarding disorder necessitates examining its societal and artistic representations.
• Further research should explore the interplay between individual pathology and cultural narratives in hoarding.