Why the Indian mindset of hoarding and cluttering is a problem

Indian culture is very conscious about maximizing the utilization of the available resources by minimizing wastage, and therefore, Resource Management has always been very intensive in India. This is because people from different generations have always been encouraged to save up for difficult times, hence developing different behaviours such as need and obsession with items. Even though these habits have appeared due to practical causes like economic instability or lack of access to resources in the past, they can become pathogenic for some people in the contemporary world.

However, this deviation from rational thinking is not inherently a weakness within Indian culture. Nevertheless, for patients who have risk factors resulting in several peculiar mental disorders, cultural tendencies to Hoarding and cluttering can exacerbate the condition.

Different social, cultural, and economic reasons explain the excessive Hoarding and cluttering in the Indian context. In Indian culture, it is extremely important to maintain and store things primarily based on their emotional, religious or Folklore importance. Mementoes, like clothes worn at wedding ceremonies, photograph albums, and family heirlooms, such as chairs, tables, or beds, are not usually disposed of as they are considered to be repulsive to bad luck. All these are rooted in a culture that calls for one to embrace their roots and history as a family.

The tendency is also conditioned by the shortage of resources in general, often based on the memories of the previous generations who encountered many material shortages in their lives. This mentality fosters the practice of stockpiling things “for a rainy day”, even though it may not always be used. Over the past few decades, a large number of people have settled in urban areas, and the emergence of compact apartments has also contributed to this problem. Due to the availability of space, the household becomes more conspicuous of items irrelevant to their day-to-day business.

The emerging culture of Consumerism has deepened the problem. Due to increased access to commodities and the rise of Consumerism, more people own products and rarely develop a bad habit of throwing them out. This behaviour is made worse by an attitude that seems to place more importance on the physical property that dominates a home than the actual inhabitants of the place.

When Hoarding Becomes a Problem

Though timely saving and repurposing of products are part of Indian culture, in some instances, excessive accumulation brings problems. Research shows that clutter leads to effects such as anxiety, which impacts concentration levels and subjects them to a condition called clutter hoarding. Disorderly organization, or rather the lack of organization, can interfere with organizational function and psychological health; it makes simple tasks seem like huge chores.

Hoarding can lead to health problems because it accumulates dust and pests, making the place unhygienic. These risks are worse for urban residents, who face the daunting task of managing items given limited household space.

Extreme Hoarding can also develop isolation because people fear being seen by their neighbours in their current living conditions, so they avoid all kinds of social functions or avoid inviting people into their homes.

However, while Hoarding is not solely related to rational problems, the condition goes to the next level and turns into a quality-of-life issue. It could be important and helpful to find how these weighty cultural dependencies can be made compatible with the necessary and correct understanding of mental health problems in order to combine liberal values with India’s inherent cultural values and norms.

Managing Hoarding issues in India

There are many things rooted in Indian culture that help us manage Hoarding, like the values of mindfulness and sustainability, which work within the Indian context.

Mindful Decluttering: Motivate individuals to think about their things more critically but not to override their sentimental/ethnic feelings. For example, removing a few things from a room giving opportunity to a person to create more space to decorate and save memories effectively.

Promoting Generosity: Using items for charity adds a positive sense to the process of letting go. This is fulfilling because the furniture that no longer needs to be used is given to those without furniture.

Creating Organized Spaces: It shows that incorporating conventional norms, such as having particular rooms for a definite sort of commodity within houses, may help introduce the organization. In India, many such systems are in practice in households, such as the arrangement of clothes according to the seasons or the rot or the storage of utensils for use during certain festivals.

Raising Awareness About Mental Health: People should start opening up about mental health issues that make them aware when Hoarding is excessive. Although therapy and counselling may be helpful in addressing these behaviours, proper management of these behaviours is advisable.

Hoarding and cluttering can be big problems in the Indian context, and they seem to be getting worse. In India, traditional values, an understanding of the need, and skills for dealing with hoarding and cluttering issues can effectively solve the problem.

By Dr. Arvind Otta, Senior Psychologist & Mental Health Activist

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