September arrives, and with it thecollectiblesthey flood the kiosks. Although collecting objects in moderation has psychological benefits, according to an addiction expert from the University of Granada (UGR) it can also cause people with a tendency to suffer aobsessive compulsive disorderdevelop this pathology before.
“Collecting objects in an exaggerated way is a symptom of this serious psychological problem – one of whose variants is known as” Diogenes Syndrome “- and of theshopping addiction, two mental illnesses that affect approximately 12% of the population ?, explains Francisca López Torrecillas, researcher at the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment of the UGR.
In principle, and as long as this hobby is cultivatedin a controlled way, collecting objects is beneficialfrom a psychological point of view, since it allows the development of skills and attitudes such as perseverance, order, patience or memory. However, the study points out that in recent years there has been a very significant increase in cases in which exaggerated collecting has led to obsessive-compulsive disorder or addiction.
“The excessive need for control, perfectionism or meticulousness and order are very common in people who have as a hobby to collect objects, but they are also closely related to psychological disorders,” says the expert.
Collecting becomes an obsession in those subjects who present personal vulnerability such as lack of self-esteem, poor social skills and disorders when facing setbacks. “When this feeling ofpersonal inefficiency, compulsive collecting helps them feel better “, declares López Torrecillas.
According to data from a survey carried out by the Valencian Association of Consumers and Users (AVACU), a member entity of CECU,more than 78% of citizens have started a collection at some point. However, if we are talking about completing the collection, 65% have completed some of the ones they have started and 35% have never finished them.
