She illuminates the process of how objects can become a hoarder and become not only their main source of happiness, but also part of their identity, thus proposing a new treatment plan based on providing a deeper understanding of and powerful treatment approach to what is a core issue for hoarding individuals: the wounding of the soul. The right of Renee Winters to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
INTRODUCTION
James Hillman (1981) beautifully articulated the shift away from psychology to a depth approach in his book The Thought of the Heart and the Soul of the World:. Is there a connection between the internal process of the individual and the archetypal energy stored in the material being stored.
HOARDING AS AN EPIDEMIC
Progress can be defined as the daily progress of the process of psychological adjustment” (Jung p. 32). It threatens the total annihilation of one's very humanity—the complete destruction of the human personality” (p. 34).
IDENTIFICATIONS AND PROJECTIONS PLACED ON
Mystery and potential are elicited through the symbol, "the patterns of the objective, impersonal psyche from which derive what we experience as conscious content" (p. 89). Matt Paxton (2011), owner of Clutter Cleaner and a noted clutter expert, concludes that, "the only way they see to ease their pain is to literally and figuratively bury themselves deeper."
MEDIA INFLUENCE AND CONSUMERISM VERSUS
In addition, the traditional practice of steaming has largely been considered illegal due to farmers' liability issues regarding food and field safety. Due to the sensitive and uncomfortable nature of the disorder, most hoarders do not tell others how they feel, especially not publicly. Another interesting note concerns the location of the property where Mike and Frank search for their products.
When Mike and Frank climb into the rafters of the collector's garage, he says. Outsiders think of the house as uninhabitable and dangerous mainly because it is covered with objects. The shadow qualities of a hoarder are experienced through external and internal acts, and the psyche is unaware of the difference.
SEEING THE PERSON IN THE HOARDER
Therefore, to gain insight into a hoarder's struggle, a sense of myth and knowledge of myth is crucial, because myths show the imaginative structure in their mess, and the background of the characters of myth can be located in human characters be (Hillman, 1999, p. 11). This process speaks to the nature of the understanding of hoarding from another dimension beyond the clinical model. To understand hoarding tendencies, one must look beyond the symptomology and into the mystery of the behavior of those trapped in their clutter.
To exercise a more holistic approach with patients, the importance of the therapeutic encounter between therapist and patient is vital. The optimal therapeutic situation occurs when the therapist uses an individualized treatment plan using all modalities, conventional and alternative, that is tailored specifically to the needs of the patient, where both can recognize the innate healing properties of the human body that contribute to a healthy recovery (Benda, cited in Schlitz et al., 2005, p. 34). Consequently, and in line with Murray, Alexander (1990) makes a controversial point in his book Personology when he states: “The study of a lived life is more likely to draw attention to the explanation of those aspects of the life story which do not seem to follow easily from either common sense or simple psychological principles” (p. 9).
TURNING A DIAGNOSIS INTO SOUL WORK
It is essential to pay attention to the nuances of an experience in the psyche, without reductionism, to endure the heat of the opposites: guilt, shame and loss. Hillman (1983b) said that complexes cannot be found by leaving nets, and that they do not respond to concern, searching parties or naturalists with labels and tags: “The complexes in the deep have their own body and their own. will, and it is not bound by the ego's ordinances of compensation” (p. 59). The fear of the story itself for a hoarder allows repression to be built into the story or the fantasy made material into the hoarded possessions.
Hoarding behavior can be seen as experiences in which something else becomes the source of the hoarders' ecstasy, their happiness dependent on objects, at the mercy of the fantasy created. The loss and vulnerability that hoarders experience in relation to the objects they acquire can be seen as states of the soul. Perhaps there is a side of the shadow that hoarders are afraid to identify with, even though their shadow may consist of the best of them - the tension of opposites, both positive and negative.
ATTENDING TO THE VOICES OF HOARDERS
Remaining open to the meaning of the following stories presented is the essential task set before the reader. It is imperative to return to the understanding of the nosology of disorder as a diagnosis for the material disorder of the soul. It must remain connected to the poetics of hoarding, in the sense that the hoarder is in the process of creating a meaning from and out of the mess -.
Looking through the lens of inquiry illuminates an appreciation and attention to the true complexity of experience that adds depth and mystery to their stories. By offering this kind of approach to the stories presented in the next chapter, it enables the engagement of the soul and the willingness to invite the imagination while viewing the landscape of the hoarder's home - a way of deepening the event into experience. These individuals were selected because of the considerable amount of available biological background information and descriptions of their hoarding settings and hoarded objects.
PERSONAL STORIES OF HOARDERS
I noticed another hole in the ceiling near the light fixture. The Silver Cross painting was still above the old coal stove. Lois lived in the "eye of the house" bedroom for 13 months during her stay at Gray Gardens; this room overlooked the veranda. In the original documentary by the Maysles brothers, Edie is seen feeding the raccoons at the end of the hall from their bedroom.
Cracks and holes in the windows and roof caused the walls and floors to become saturated with water and the house's beams to rot. Although there was much beauty in the rooms of the Collyer mansion, every step was taken with caution. Once past this area one could see rare treasures belonging to the Collyer family in the cellar.
It's the one item you use from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until the moment you close them at night. Cox, 1964, p. 6) The description of the scene continues to illuminate the misery in which Ida, Emma and Mary lived:
THEMES IDENTIFIED WITH HOARDERS
Feelings of not being good enough, not measuring up, and embarrassment about past history or origins were all evident in the biographies of the historical figures, as were feelings of shyness, humiliation, and inadequacy. 1 Fourteen pianos and five violins were found in the assemblage, along with an accordion, a trombone, a clavichord, a cornet, sheet music and an opera program. Each person's unfavorable traits were projected into their habitat and came alive in the darkness and gloom of their surroundings.
However, the mansion sat in disrepair and brokenness, a reflection of the lives of Homer and Langley. In addition, the decline in the beauty of Gray Gardens reflected the Beales' descent from high society into isolation. However, one can still see how his inner turmoil, chaos and insecurities are reflected in the contents of the boxes.
BURYING EMOTIONS WITH OBJECTS
Psyche and I presented themselves vividly and powerfully in the images of the decaying environment and in the objects they acquired. Seeing what objects represent for each individual captures the essence of the experience for them. I can look at the phenomenon of accumulation through a more personal lens on the example of a patient in my private practice.
We didn't talk much, just stayed in the stillness of the moment, allowing me to feel what was being projected into the room. The smells of feces, urine and animal dander filled the house on this August day due to the many cages of cats piled up in the living room and dogs running free downstairs and in the apartment's backyard. She has expressed awareness of the connection between her cluttered home and her abusive and unstable relationships with family and friends.
SOUL WORK TOWARD RECOVERY
The next journey in deepening the relationship between object and person is to notice how perspectives on treatment can influence how individuals think about their condition. The inherent symbolism within the Beales' personal myth was shrouded in the darkness and death that surrounded them like the dead vines that covered Gray Gardens. The Collyer brothers' inherent symbolism and personal myth seemed to center on their feelings of overwhelm in their situation with their objects, Homer's medical problems, and their intense fear that the neighborhood would close in on them.
Each had unique symbolic meanings that needed individual interpretation; therefore, a prescribed treatment regime will ward off the symbolic function and deny access to the dynamics of the unconscious. The final element of the depth psychological approach is to begin the work with soul and psyche in mind. It was essential for this book to attend to the nuances of each experience in the psyche, without reducing it to some formula of understanding, to endure the heat of the opposites: shame and loss.
Ghosty men: The strange but true story of the Collyer brothers, New York's greatest collectors. Bloomsbury, NY: Holtzbrinck. The Greatest Hoarders: The Extraordinary Story of Two Reclusive Brothers Found Dead Side by Side Under Tons of Rubbish in a New York Villa in 1947. Retrieved from www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2217953/Homer-Langley-Collyer -Hoarder- brothers-killed-clutter-New-York-mansion.html.
Retrieved from www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3666842/Lifting-the-lid-on-Warhols-Time-Capsules. Archivist Matt Wrbican reveals the weird and wonderful contents of the artist's "time capsules". Sydney Morning Herald.
INDEX
