In Tarn-et-Garonne, a woman with Diogenes syndrome had been accumulating waste for more than thirty years. After recently reconnecting with her, her son found out all about it.
- In Tarn-et-Garonne, a woman has accumulated 15 tons of waste in 30 years.
- This inability to separate from objects has a name: Diogenes syndrome.
- Antidepressants and therapy can help sufferers recover.
A house that looked like a dump. In Tarn-et-Garonne, a 75-year-old woman with Diogenes syndrome has accumulated about fifteen tons of waste in thirty years. There Noon dispatch tells his story in a article published on May 24. It was his son who discovered the state of the house. “She was hospitalized and had to return home, he tells There Dispatch. I went there to do some cleaning. I expected to find a messy house because even when I was young it tended to be messy but I didn’t expect that. When I opened, I got scared.”
Diogenes syndrome: a house full of garbage
In 30 years, the septuagenarian has accumulated so much waste that certain rooms have become inaccessible, such as the bathroom and the kitchen. “When we arrived, we could barely open the door”reports Alexandre Perrin, co-founder of the company “Act extreme cleaning“, who is in charge of cleaning the house. The piles of waste reached 1.5 meters high on average in the dwelling. “We don’t really know how she lived or how she moved”he confides.
What is Diogenes Syndrome?
This accumulation of waste is the consequence of his pathology: Diogenes syndrome. “Today she is fine. I don’t think she’s lucid about the situation but I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”said his son to There Dispatch. Also called “hoarding”, the pathology often manifests as early as adolescence, but worsens over the years “creating considerable problems when the person reaches their mid-thirties”note it MSD manual.
Affected people have difficulty parting with objects and at the same time they feel a strong need to acquire new things. “Hoarding is distinguished from collecting objects (e.g. books or figurines) in that it is disorganized, unlike collecting, and prevents the person from using cluttered rooms”, indicates the specialized site. “They go and pick up things outside and at the same time, they don’t take out what should be taken out of the house: leftover meals, garbage cans… All that accumulates up to the ceiling. They provide small spaces for going to the toilet. Basically they say they collect trash, but it could be bikes, broken bits of stuff, anything.”completes the psychiatrist Bernard Vilamot in an interview with France 3 Occitania. The causes of this syndrome are multiple. It can be linked to obsessive-compulsive disorders, neurological disorders, depression or isolation.
Diogenes syndrome: a difficult pathology to manage
The people concerned are often in denial, which makes it difficult for them to be taken care of. “They do not suffer from their disease, it is the neighbors who suffer from it. They don’t mind, it’s like a shell, a fortress, adds the psychiatrist. There’s no trading with others or guilt for doing this.“But taking antidepressants and/or cognitive behavioral treatment can have beneficial effects.”For example, doctors may try to help the person get rid of items, refrain from buying new ones (if excessive acquisition is a problem), and make decisions more easily.”note it MSD manual. Between 2 and 3% of the population would be affected.