BPDs and Hoarding?

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry if there's already a thread on this somewhere, but I looked around and

didn't see any.

I'm wondering if anyone else's BPD parent(s) had a problem with hoarding. I

figure, at its extremes, this behavior definitely qualifies as a " potentially

self-harming behavior " listing in the DSM criteria.

In my mother's case, I've always assumed her hoarding was a dysfunctional

reaction to having been very poor as a child, and seeing things she loved get

taken away from her. Interestingly, she rationalizes her spending by almost

always buying second-hand or on sale. But then, she spends so much money that

she might as well have bought one or two full price, brand new items rather than

5 or 6 kind of crappy tag sale or clearance items! Her house is always dark,

cluttered, and messy; my non-BPD father enabled her by buying two 8X8X20

shipping containers and putting them in the backyard. They are full of junk.

As a child, my brother and I were always blamed for how messy the house was, but

now I see that no one could have kept such a cluttered house clean. To clean

properly, you have to be able to throw at least some things away once in a

while!

Any one else? Bueller?