In life, there are always many young people complaining that the elderly at home like to hoard things and are reluctant to throw away useless bottles and cans, even though they have complained many times to no avail. While constantly adding new things, the elderly are reluctant to throw away old things - shopping boxes, clothes from 20 years ago, children's textbooks from many years ago... Young people secretly throw them away, and old people secretly pick them up again. .
Ding Xiujun, director and chief physician of the Fourth Treatment Area (Geriatric Psychology Department, Psychosomatic Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center) of the Sixth Hospital of Changchun City, said that sometimes the elderly like to hoard things because they have Alzheimer's disease!
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Be optimistic about these four abnormal hoarding manifestations
Ding Xiujunren said that hoarding things is a living habit of some people, mostly among middle-aged and elderly people. "This is mainly related to the background of growth, because after experiencing the era of shortage of materials, the elderly have formed the habit of hoarding and saving. They are reluctant to throw away old things. If they are broken, they repair them and continue to use them. This can only be regarded as a living habit at best; There are also people who are reluctant to 'throw away' things because they have been used for a long time or represent memories of a certain period of time."
Ding Xiujunren said that cherishing items is a virtue, but "over-treasuring" things can affect daily life and even cause harm to others. Troubled, it may be hoarding .
Ding Xiujun Ren pointed out that abnormal hoarding has the following four aspects -
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The first is the continuous difficulty of discarding
It is difficult to separate the things regardless of their actual value and practicality;
The second is the retention of items. Demand
Thinking that they will be used one day, unwilling to throw them away, and feeling distressed about discarding them;
The third one is hoarding a large number of items in the room at home
Even the collected garbage piles up like a mountain, and family members are often forced to throw it away and sort it out;
The fourth one is hoarding items The behavior has caused a lot of distress
affecting family relationships, social interaction, career and environmental safety.
"If the elderly love to collect, but they can classify and organize them, and have their own arrangements and ideas about how to deal with them in the future, there is no problem." Ding Xiujun pointed out that if they keep hoarding, do not classify and organize, and do not want to sell scraps, their family members You need to see if there are other reasons based on the situation.
Some hoarding may be a manifestation of compulsion
Ding Xiujun said that from a psychological point of view, compulsive hoarding is largely related to "trauma psychology". For example, unlimited shopping may be a way for many people to vent their emotions. A way; and the most important thing to distinguish between obsessive-compulsive disorder and general hoarding disorder is whether there is inner conflict? After some people hoard goods, they will fall into trouble and often blame themselves, but they can't help but stock up. This is considered a tendency to have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
People with compulsive hoarding are reluctant to throw away even irrelevant things. These items not only take up living space, but also cause anxiety and other negative emotions. Over time, these negative emotions will seriously affect physical and mental health and make life difficult. and work is in chaos.
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The prevalence rate increases significantly with age
Ding Xiujun said that serious hoarding of items by the elderly, or even hoarding of collected garbage, may also be Alzheimer's disease. This is a common degenerative disease of the central nervous system in old age, clinically manifested as memory impairment, abstract thinking and calculation impairment, aphasia , apraxia, agnosia, visuospatial ability impairment, personality and behavioral changes, etc.
We need to remind everyone that the cause of the disease is currently unknown, the onset is often insidious, and the prevalence increases significantly with age. Patients with Alzheimer's disease may like to hoard, pick up rags, and save things. They may even regard garbage as treasure and will not tidy it up when they take it home.
“If it is hoarding caused by compulsive hoarding or Alzheimer’s disease, family members should pay special attention to it, actively seek medical treatment if necessary, and seek early diagnosis and treatment."Ding Xiujun Ren said that for the elderly, we should not only care about their physical health, but also pay more attention to their psychological changes, and give them more care, companionship and necessary tolerance, so that they can enjoy their old age in a loving environment. Life.
Expert introduction
Ding Xiujun is the director of the Fourth Treatment Area (Geriatric Psychology Department, Psychosomatic Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center) of Changchun City Medical Association and a member of the Jilin Provincial Psychological Counselors Association. Specializing in diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorder, depression , insomnia , obsessive-compulsive disorder, somatoform disorder , dissociative conversion disorder, mental disorders related to superstition and witchcraft, psychological disorders in the elderly, and psychology of common psychological problems Consultation and treatment.
Produced by Jilin Daily Press
Planning: Jiang Zhongxiao
Author: Zhang Lili
Editor: Yu Yue
