Take Me To Post Comment Form Hi,

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnosis Standards Manual 4 (DSM-IV), “the inability to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value is one of the eight criteria for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD).” OCPD is also known as OCD.

This personality trait of hoarding has become such an issue in our society that the APA is currently considering its own diagnosis code for the DSM-V edition. Yes, if you have ever watched a television episode of “Hoarders” or “Hoarding: Buried Alive” you are watching some real people with real issues.

As I sit here in front of my laptop, I wonder if all of the e-mail messages, bookmarks, songs, videos, and the like I have stored on my computer could identify me as a hoarder. Could I be a hoarder of electronic junk? Are you a hoarder of electronic junk? Would you consider someone who has an extensive music collection (over 5,000 songs) on his or her MP3 player a hoarder?

At some point, I guess Walkie will have to go through his computer and clean it up. Throw away that link I have not visited in over a year or dump the video that was funny two years ago, but have not watched it since.

Could this be overkill? I know Walkie is crazy, but really – where is that thin line between being an electronic hoarder and a collector?

To read more about this disease and the proposed changes…
http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=398