Disclaimer

This Blog is about helping Male disabled veterans find useful information,This is not advice but research and our opinions. The information provided at this website is of a general nature provided for educational purposes, and is not meant to be specific to any veteran or other claimant in matters related to claims for benefits.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I am a Compulive hoarder due to my PTSD MST

Hi friends its Tuesday night 1-18-2011 was just going to check for some paperwork for my case but I am a Compulive Hoarder and I would have just given up. So here I am at the computer blogging about why I am a Hoarding King. So I web search Hoarding and found this From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding or disposophobia)[1] is the excessive acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them), even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary. Compulsive hoarding impairs mobility and interferes with basic activities, including cooking, cleaning, showering, and sleeping. A person who engages in compulsive hoarding is commonly said to be a "pack rat", in reference to that animal's characteristic hoarding.
It is not clear whether compulsive hoarding is an isolated disorder, or rather a symptom of another condition, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.[2













 This my Apartment in Bradley Beach NJ where I think it is not sure whats under all of this stuff its been so long since it was all cleaned up like 4 years or so. 

Characteristics

 

While there is no clear definition of compulsive hoarding in accepted diagnostic criteria (such as the current DSM), Frost and Hartl (1996) provide the following defining features:[3]
  • The acquisition of and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value
  • Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed
  • Significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding
  • Reluctance or inability to return borrowed items; as boundaries blur, impulsive acquisitiveness could sometimes lead to kleptomania or stealing
According to Sanjaya Saxena, MD, director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Program at the University of California, San Diego, compulsive hoarding in its worst forms can cause fires, unclean conditions (e.g. rat and roach infestations),[4] injuries from tripping on clutter and other health and safety hazards.[5] The hoarder may mistakenly believe that the hoarded items are very valuable, or the hoarder may know that the accumulated items are useless, or may attach a strong personal value to items which they recognize would have little or no value to others. A hoarder of the first kind may show off a cutlery set claiming it to be made of silver and mother-of-pearl, disregarding the fact that the packaging clearly states the cutlery is made of steel and plastic. A hoarder of the second type may have a refrigerator filled with uneaten food items months past their expiration dates, but in some cases would vehemently resist any attempts from relatives to dispose of the unusable food. In other cases the hoarder will recognize the need to clean the refrigerator, but due (in part) to feelings that doing so would be an exercise in futility, and overwhelmed by the similar condition of the rest of their living space, fails to do so.
 So after reading that I am a Hoarder I went to youtube and found this video she is talking about female but I feel it happens to male also.


I also found this

Trauma, PTSD and OCD

By , About.com Guide
Updated May 25, 2010
PTSD and OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as other anxiety disorders, often co-occur. PTSD has been found to commonly co-occur with other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
In regard to obsessive-compulsive disorder (or OCD) specifically, studies have found that anywhere between 4% and 22% of people with PTSD also have a diagnosis of OCD. In addition, people with OCD also show a high likelihood of having experienced traumatic events. For example, one study found that 54% of people with a diagnosis of OCD report having experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. The experience of traumatic events has also been connected to compulsive behaviors often seen in OCD, such as hoarding (for example, constantly acquiring and not getting rid of a large amount of possessions).

What Is OCD?

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, OCD is characterized by the experience of recurring excessive obsessive activities and mental rituals, as well as repetitive behaviors or thoughts (also called compulsions), such as hand washing, counting, or checking. Obsessions and compulsions can be defined as:
  • Obsessions
    Obsessions are defined as recurring and persistent thoughts, impulses, and/or images that are viewed as intrusive and inappropriate. The experience of these thoughts, impulses, and/or images also cause considerable distress and anxiety.

    The obsessions in OCD are not just worries about real-life problems, and people will try (often unsuccessfully) to ignore or "push away" these recurrent thoughts, impulses or images. Finally, in OCD, people recognize that these obsessions are from their own mind (and not delusions like what might be seen in someone with a psychotic disorder).


Compulsions
Compulsions are defined as repetitive behaviors (for example, excessive hand washing, checking, hoarding, or constantly trying to put things around you in order) or mental rituals (for example, frequently praying, counting in your head, or repeating phrases constantly in your mind) that someone feels like they have to do in response to the experience of obsessive thoughts.Compulsions are focused on trying to reduce or eliminate anxiety or prevent the likelihood of some kind of dreaded event or situation.
To have a diagnosis of OCD, a person must experience obsessions and/or compulsions, view the obsessions and compulsions as being excessive and unreasonable, and experience considerable distress as a result of having these obsessions and compulsions.

How Are PTSD and OCD Connected?

In addition to PTSD, people who have experienced a traumatic life event may also be more likely to develop symptoms of OCD. In fact, it has been shown that the severity of a person's OCD symptoms is connected to the number of traumatic events they have experienced in their lifetime.
After experiencing a traumatic event, a person may constantly feel anxious and have concerns about their safety. Compulsive behaviors (like checking, ordering, or hoarding) may make a person feel more in control, safe, and reduce anxiety in the short-run. However, in the long-run, compulsive behaviors do not adequately address the source of the anxiety and can even increase the amount of anxiety someone experiences.

Getting Help for Your PTSD and OCD

If you have PTSD and OCD, it is very important to seek out treatment. There are a number of effective treatments available for PTSD and OCD. You can learn more about the treatment of OCD at the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (or OCF). The OCF also provides information on how to find a therapist for your OCD and support groups in your area. Finally, Dr. Ashley Walters-Ingvoldstad, About.com Guide to OCD, provides a wealth of information on OCD, including its symptoms, how to cope with OCD, and its treatment.
Sources:

American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed. Washington, DC: Author. Cromer, K.R., Schmidt, N.B., & Murphy, D.L. (2007). An investigation of traumatic life events and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1683-1691.
Cromer, K.R., Schmidt, N.B., & Murphy, D.L. (2007). Do traumatic events influence the clinical expression of compulsive hoarding? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2581-2592.
Hubbert, J.D., Moser, J.S., Gershuny, B.S., Riggs, D.S., Spokas, M., Filip, J. et al. (2005). The relationship between obsessive-compulsive and posttraumatic stress symptoms in clinical and non-clinical samples. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19, 127-136.
Kessler, R.C., Sonnega, A., Bromet, E., Hughes, M., & Nelson, C.B. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 1048-1060.


Well it time to say good night if I can find more info I will post it later till then remember "
Find the way out of Hell as Winston Churchill said
"IF YOU'RE GOING THROUGH HELL, KEEP GOING"