Compulsive accumulation disorder | Physical and mental size

The press Entry into the accommodation and daily newspapers of two people who accumulate objects excessively … In addition, and who want to get out of it.

Posted at 6:30 a.m.

When Suzanne P.* moved into her apartment in the early 1990s, she was proud of it. Similarly, “It was the most beautiful in the block,” she recalls. Similarly, At the time, Suzanne had a job, and she took care of her home. Nevertheless, She immediately specifies it: she comes from a “good family, honest, working”, and she did post -secondary studies.

“Compulsive accumulation problems. Therefore, it does not just touch compulsive accumulation disorder | physical poor people or people with a mental health disorder making them unconscious of their situation: it encompasses everyone,” sums up Suzanne. Similarly, The rich and the poor, the owners and the tenants, she says.

It is often said that a few hard strokes are enough to lose foot. In addition, This is what happened to Suzanne. Therefore, Everything was played at the time about fifteen years ago, in mid-Quite. Similarly, A professional exhaustion. Meanwhile, The infidelity of the man she loved. In addition, A attack. Similarly, Then, a relationship marked by violence. However, Suzanne found himself social assistance provider.

In the wake of these trauma, she began to space household days … Moreover, and to accumulate equipment. Consequently, At first it was “light”, she said. Similarly, “A pile of papers on a desk, scattered clothes. Therefore, Then the objects accumulated. compulsive accumulation disorder | physical Furthermore, No things found in the street, specifies Suzanne: gifts she offered to embellish her daily life. Similarly, “The 1^is From the month, I was going to dollarama. Moreover, It was good for esteem and it gave me power. Moreover, I too, I was able to buy business, ”summarizes the sixties, met at home, in the north of Montreal.

In the living room, her dog sleeps at his feet, next to a large sofa entirely covered with objects. However, At the corner, a mouse cage sits on a pile of objects. Meanwhile, Behind, a large library, well garnished too. “Here, my candle and incense kit, here, the games, there, the seam and the trinkets,” she says. Even on the sofa, Suzanne has a system. The “Animals” section, the painting section, the meditation CD section … on the ground, a pile of agendas, including four from compulsive accumulation disorder | physical 2023-2024. She regrets having bought as much, but prefers to keep them, to scribble. “At least, the trees will not be died for nothing,” she philosophizes.

Suzanne knew that she had a problem for a long time. but hesitated to ask for help, for fear of self -denouncing herself from the municipal authorities. Its owner was ahead of it. “For two, three years, he has been coming and he has taken photos,” she says.

Suzanne followed two workshops with mental health organizations to understand the source of her difficulties and learn to overcome them. According to her, 85 % of the path is traveled, although ordinary people would feel cramped in its compulsive accumulation disorder | physical living space. Things are now classified, and the corridor, cleared. “Here. it is my safety,” says the one who fears to have to move to a tiny apartment where animals are prohibited. She takes a look at her dog, who always rushes at her feet.

Suzanne also wonders if the steps of its owners are not a pretext to expel it. because it pays half the current price for its and a half.

Compulsive accumulation disorder | physical

TAC. Diogenes

At the Maison Scorpion, the months preceding 1^is July are “Rock N’roll”, the owner agrees, Stéphane Felteau. Formerly technician in parasitic management. Stéphane Felteau opened the SCORPION house to meet a need: decluttering and large cleaning of accommodation, whether or not there is insect presence.

The emergency exits are obstructed, the corridors are too narrow to circulate, the top of the stove is congested, etc.

The TAL has made dozens. dozens of decisions containing the terms “Diogenes syndrome” or “compulsive accumulation disorder”, sometimes favorable compulsive accumulation disorder | physical to the tenant, sometimes favorable to the owner. Under the Civil Code. the tenants have the obligation to use their accommodation with caution and diligence and to maintain it in good condition.

Diogenes syndrome is characterized by a great negligence of its environment, often accompanied by accumulation of waste or objects. The TAC, for its part, is a mental health disorder recognized since 2013 by the DSM-5, the Bible in mental health. It implies the presence of a certain discourse behind keeping objects. waste (this could be used or recycled, I could need it one day …) as well as a distress associated with the fact of departing from it. Between 2 % and 6 % of the population is affected by the TAC, according to studies.

60 Poubelle bags

Eve*, 25, has lived since childhood compulsive accumulation disorder | physical in a Montreal housing cooperative. Since the death of her mother, she has lived alone in her and a half four. She would like to move to a smaller (and cheaper) apartment. in the same coop, but she knows full well that, to request it, she must regain control over her environment. Eve is followed by various mental health stakeholders. She suffers from bipolar disorder, agoraphobia and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

We met her at her house in the west of Montreal, while the SCORPION House team was at work. Stéphane Felteau cleaned the bottom of the kitchen cabinets. An employee was preparing to clean the walls (“20 years of nicotine”, specifies Ève), while third activated in the rooms. Eve was able to offer their service thanks to an inheritance.

During our visit, the young woman was nervous. In the backyard compulsive accumulation disorder | physical of the coop, the little brunette smoked a cigarette sipping an energy drink. “I was overlooked,” she said. Instead of fleeing, I decided to face the situation, as a responsible adult. Honistous with her accommodation, Eve isolates herself a lot.

Last year, she herself made a big cleaning, but has not really retouched her apartment since. Waste has accumulated. The SCORPION House team released 60 poubelle bags.

Eve’s mother worked in a recovery site and brought back objects at home. Eve remembers the newspaper stacks “that went up to the ceiling”. “After her death, with five neighbors, we worked 16 hours in a weekend to empty everything,” she recalls.

Eve feels anxiety when she takes out the garbage, and a certain “comfort” in an overloaded environment. The congestion also allows her to hide painful memories compulsive accumulation disorder | physical in this apartment where she grew up, she said.

“I left it the same because I didn’t want to have flashbacks. ” sums up the woman, who says she was the victim of her father’s violence.

Finding your space, however, relieves it. She can finally install her dishwasher. And for the first time in a long time, she recently invited friends, at her house.

* Suzanne preferred to silence her last name and Eve, her first name too, for fear of being victims of reprisals.