Hoarding

This is simply what I call the symptom that doesn't get enough attention. 

Depression can take many forms when it comes to influencing a person's life. One of those is hoarding. It is the inability to let go of memories and feelings associated with items as simple as checks or packages. It is often associated with replacing the emptiness found in someone. 

(picture found: https://theflyingfruitbowl.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/greg-kletsel/)

The longer an item remains in a person's life without being discarded, the more anxiety it would cause in an attempt to throw it away. Hoarding itself means that a person places more value on an item than people around them. While a healthy relationship, regardless of whether they are romantic or platonic, people grow to in a way "merge". These people become part of their lives and represent a characteristic, then some people who especially have struggled to make these connections start to look for them in inanimate objects. This can oftentimes come after a loss of someone or a breakup. 

One should also make notes that when in a relationship a party commits to hoarding, the relationship could not be very healthy or the other party is suffering from a mental illness/trauma. 

Now some may say that it is illegitimate to diagnose every person out there hoarding immediately as mentally ill, but the truth is that hoarding is very much comparable to higher levels of planned self-harm and neither is and should ever be considered normal. This means that in the occasion of high-levels of hoarding, it is important to intervene at the earliest convenience. (Now, I'd like to keep in mind that hoarding and collecting do not overlap. Collecting means a genuine interest in the items collected and the significant role they play in the collector's life.)

While I am currently suggesting that hoarding is a symptom, it could also be a key factor in developing depression. 

Hoarding is an anxiety-inducing activity. It creates an overwhelming struggle to come to terms with unnecessary items gathered and stored. When it comes to depicting a happy place, heaven, rehabilitation centers and vacations, we tend to imagine a place kissed by a bright light, that's mostly clean and minimalistic. In comparison to that, a home that's covered with dust, dirt and crumbling items reminds us of the exact opposite. It makes it harder for a person to feel relaxed because the mess is a reminder that things have not been completed. The house has not been cleaned, the work is overdue and items in the fridge or drawers may not exactly be edible no longer. 

This also explains why many people attempt to have a spring cleaning. During the winter, things are more likely to pile up thanks to colder weather and many of the items usually stored outside have to now be moved inside. Things fall out of place and summer vacation is over. In the spring, however, the weather is more comforting and in light, it is easier to spot dust or dirt. 

Cleaning is not meant to be only a chore, but as a refreshing activity that should result in higher productivity.

Just a key reminder on top of all this, hoarding is dangerous to one's health and the dust created or the unclean environment could result in serious damages to one's health, particularly to organs such as lungs. 

P.S. So keep in mind to throw things out, donate or recycle them and clean your homes on weekly basis!

(picture found: https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/cleaning-organizing/)

More info:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hoarding-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20356056

https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/hoarding-basics#:~:text=Hoarding%20is%20the%20persistent%20difficulty,a%20hoarder%20and%20family%20members.

https://www.mentalhealthtoday.co.uk/blog/awareness/hoarding-how-and-when-should-you-take-down-peoples-walls-of-safety

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsive_hoarding