On many occasions, we have seen on the news the eviction of an elderly person, and in some cases we can see that this person accumulated a lot of garbage in the house, perhaps as a result of the Diogenes syndrome.
However, not everyone really know what this syndrome is about, what it consists of, and the reason it receives this name.
That is why, I will laid out everything that is related to this condition, while sharing with you some pics I took in the house of a family member, that made me think this might be a small case of this syndrome.
What is “Diogenes Syndrome”?
Diogenes syndrome is a behavioral disorder that affects older adults. It occurs in both men and women. The main symptoms are excessive hoarding, dirty homes, and poor personal hygiene. People with Diogenes syndrome also withdraw from life and society. | Source
Diogenes syndrome is a disorder characterized by self-neglect, domestic squalor, apathy, compulsive hoarding of garbage and more importantly lack of shame. The syndrome does not refer to the intelligence or the philosophies of Diogenes but rather refers to the way Diogenes lived. A person with primary Diogenes syndrome is intelligent but aggressive, stubborn, suspicious, emotionally labile and has an unreal perception of life. | Source
As mentioned in the above definition, the Diogenes syndrome is named after Diogenes of Sinope, who was a philosopher of Greek origin, although instead of suffering from the hoarding disorder, he gave away all of his possessions by teaching and being an example about this thoughts of austerity and banality, nevertheless, he had the desire to live in total solitude and isolation, just as today’s people with the Diogenes Syndrome. .
The typical person suffering from this is that of a person who has already reached the stage of old age, lives alone and progressively accumulates a lot of garbage and useless things, that in certain occasions can have a bad smell or even become the home of insects, bacteria, or even rats. Although we speak of waste and dirt, these objects that the person collects have a very important value for him/her.
What are the causes of Diogenes syndrome?
Diogenes syndrome is thought to occur in response to some significant cause of stress in the patient’s life. While the time span in which it may occur is not defined, the majority of cases appear to develop later in life. The defining characteristic of the condition is a disordered pattern of compilation and possessiveness. | Source
As I have said before, it is a specific syndrome of old age, where somehow they come to neglect their proper food intake and their hygiene. This situation may be produced due to a social isolation that causes the person to little by little start to feel the lack of contact from their peers, or otherwise may be the result of a psychiatric problem that is triggering it, as for example: major depression without treatment, or other pathologies such as dementia.
Likewise, among the main causes of isolation, widowhood is obviously common, that is, the loss of one of the spouses. What leads the person who is left to a very large process of depression as a result of not having overcame the grieving process that involves any loss of these magnitude. It is important to take into account, that although it is considered an elderly people’s disease, some of its symptoms can be detected much earlier. For this reason, it is very important to establish a proper diagnosis as soon as possible to treat other possible conditions that may be also affecting the person.
Typical symptoms of Diogenes Syndrome
- Social withdrawal source: the person starts to get away from others and does not have any kind of intimate relationship with the people closest to him/her, likewise he/she maintains sporadic interactions when the urges to get a new object are very strong
- Extreme self-neglect source: this will lead the person to be very careless and especially happens in very advanced stages of the disease, there is a considerable loss of weight as well.
- Lack of shame source: as for example when they look in the rubbish container without caring what the people who pass by their side think, this is just for extreme cases.
- Collectionism source: this person will recognize objects and things that for most people have no value, but on the contrary, for the person with the condition it is a small treasure that have a special and unique value.
How to prevent the condition?
To prevent this condition from developing that the family must be very aware, especially when it comes to the elderly. In the same way, special attention should be given to cases in which a certain tendency towards isolation has been perceived in the person.
Types of Diogenes Syndrome.
Primary Diogenes syndrome: This diagnosis is given when no additional mental illness has been diagnosed.
Secondary Diogenes syndrome: This diagnosis is given when an additional mental illness is part of the overall diagnosis. | Source
Diagnosis of the syndrome.
To make a diagnosis, a doctor will look for clues in the person’s behavioral and social history. A social worker may be able to help with this. This is especially true if the individual has a history of complaints against them from neighbors or others.
A physical exam and brain imaging tests, like an MRI or PET scan, will help a doctor identify any underlying cause that may be treatable. | Source
In order to carry out the diagnosis, it is essential that it is the family itself that reports on the situation that is happening, since the patient will never do it by him/herself. In a similar way, the therapist or specialist in charge of the case, must first detect if he or she has this syndrome or are simply overlapping symptoms that could well be the result of another disease, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is defined as:
...an anxiety disorder in which time people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively (compulsions). The repetitive behaviors, such as hand washing, checking on things or cleaning, can significantly interfere with a person’s daily activities and social interactions. | Source
It is for this reason, that in regard to diagnosis is essential to carry out a follow-up of the patient, with the aim of observing their behavioral and behavioral patterns. In this way, the disease can be detected.
Treatment of the syndrome.
In the first place, the treatment for this type of person is directed above all in order to treat the possible complications created because of the bad nutritional and hygienic state that the person presents caused by the condition. However, it is then advisable and totally necessary to proceed with the establishment of a series of preventive measures. For this, it is very important to have sufficient social support as well as a proper home care in order to avoid hospitalization.
Diogenes syndrome is currently treated with some combination of medication and psychotherapy. Antidepressants, SSRI’s in particular, are often prescribed, as those who demonstrate hoarding tendencies tend to exhibit signs of anxiety and/or depression. While not the root cause of the behavior, anxiety and depression can exacerbate the symptoms of compulsive hoarding. Antidepressants can be helpful, but only mildly so, and as such are not alone considered an effective treatment for Diogenes syndrome. | Source
Although it is to be expected that they always reject the social help provided to them, perhaps because of pride or because of shame, it depends on how you look into it.
Conclusion
As is the case with several mental conditions , approaching this issue must be done with a previous planning involving every family member available to give support and don't let the person with the condition to feel attacked, ashamed or belittled in anyway.
Everyone can suffer eventually from a mental sickness, and it never feels good when we are in a state of vulnerability because of this. The most common condition is probably anxiety, but in the majority of the cases its only temporal so in the end it doesn't become a big deal. Nevertheless, we need to be aware and always have an open attitude towards this issues because that is the only way to help the person overcome them. The more crazy the condition, the bigger the support needed in order to overcome it.
This doesn't mean we need to be paranoid about a family member or friends having excessive items, there are people as we all know that enjoy collecting things as a hobby, the problem comes when the person cannot stop hoarding more and more random and useless things, this is when problems start to arise, because this might indicate an unhealthy mental condition.
Have you seen someone with this syndrome? Did the person managed to overcome it?
Do you collect things as a healthy hobby?
References
welcomehomecare – elderly hoarding
Image sources
All images were taken by me
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My wife might say I am a hoarder, but it is not true. I just have a lot of stuff to sell on eBay for profit. Soon I will retire and initially my job will be to list and sell everything.
Should earn a good return. :)
As long as you don't get obsessed over those things that's perfect!. Good luck with your retirement bud! I hope crypto can also help you with that! Either way, by reading your posts I can see you are well diversified :).
Cheers!
This is an important topic. I think we all know at least one elderly person who has these traits. I try to stop by to say hello when walking my dog, and give them just a little bit of human contact in the day. Sometimes people need to be beckoned out of a shell they've created around themselves. And sometimes family is far away. The little 5 mins. out of your day to greet an elderly neighbor and give them a chance to talk about themselves and see someone is interested will mean so much to them. We can each be a bright spot in people's lives if we can just make the time to.
Thank you for this reminder of how bad things can get for people if there is no one doing this for them.
You are a great person for doing this those little things in order to help your elderly neighbors!
You know, I hadn't even really thought of it in this context until I read your post. It was just instinctive to think of how they might need someone to bring contact to them, because they never have a reason they need to go out anymore. I think I'm fortunate to live in a neighborhood where people feel safe enough with each other to know we can all drop by each other's houses just to say hello. I hope I grow old in such a neighborhood myself, whether I'm still here and it's still this way, or I'm somewhere else it is that way. We all need this attentiveness from the people around us at some point in life.
My friend usually passes the same reaction when I go to my grandmother's house, monopolizing everything, ornaments, furniture, in short, a house without sense due to the excess of objects.
Thanks for making this symptom known
Perhaps you could share some pics of your grandmother's house with the community? Its certainly a tendency with older people to accumulate useless possessions, maybe to help them remember things when their memory goes wrong.
Excellent article, Dedicatedguy.
I'd never heard of this until I stumbled across your post. It's such a sad thing. Your pictures also clearly illustrate the circumstances surrounding the sufferer. I liked how you approached this subject from both a personal and compassionate angle.
Thanks
Anj
Thanks for your kind words!
Amazing article! Thank you for sharing. I have an aunt that has trickled down this path. She has had a few issues and I was told it all came around when she lost a child to SID's. I wasn't born at the time but I have witness the after math and her slow decline. She has since got help as things were getting wonky. You're article kind of reminded me of a few things she showed.
I hope your aunt manages to get better man.
This kind of issues really require some support coming from the family.
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