One of the plausible "modes of failure" not talked about by "experts" on "hoarding" is the insidious effects of chronic resource shortage - being in the "not enough time" / "not enough money" / "too tired to think", aka "most pressing issues only" mode on a permanent basis.
This will *inevitably* lead to every single thing that requires maintenance falling into disrepair - a matter of "when", not "if".
Anything from gutters to garages to computers to finances to health will suffer badly from this, all the things that require maintenance.
Let me be clear - ongoing resource shortage will inevitably lead to everything deteriorating, and the disasters accumulating, unless recognized and dealt with - and the sooner the better, because just like things deteriorate over time, restoring balance and dealing with everything will also take time.
Just one example from life - I had this computer, and its drive failed, and I didn't have backups, because I had no room in my life for regular maintenance cycles where such things should normally be picked up. ( Fortunately, it didn't have any active, significant data on it, and it's a relatively smaller and older one, but it's still a disappointment, because there were probably some of the photos, and now, if I want any chance of recovering them, I have to take this drive for an expensive data recovery service ).
Dysfunction in Possessions - what they call "hoarding" - is also sure to result from this, if you have the right combination of cognitive type, pride / tenacity / unwillingness to let go of all your loose ends / unfinished projects / backlogs etc. as "garbage".
The point is, now I know with full clarity what led to this - absence of regular discretionary maintenance on everything, caused by a chronic overload, and all the factors leading to it are now apparent - these are mainly three -
* simply having too much commitments to realistically attend to everything properly ; underestimating the true workload and overestimating the sufficiency of resources
* life with a Frustrated Family Member whose concerns consistently hijack the agenda, to the detriment of everything else, especially discretionary - a Locomotive Personality, always pushing or pulling towards something ; one example of a Supertrap scenario
* my lack of awareness of all these patterns I recently discovered - which is still not over, because even though I understand, I still have a huge backlog of issues everywhere to sort out, even assuming the shortage is resolved on the ongoing basis
It's so painful and disappointing to realize that everything in my life was doomed to dilapidation, and I wasn't even aware of it as it was happening - slowly, gradually, over the years. It was a total Catch 22.
Well, it's time to start fixing all that.
I also wanted to bring this to everyone's attention, with this particular article, and generally all my work being published, because I know 100% this is happening with a lot of other people without their awareness.
The Zero Surplus Theory describes this pattern - this is perhaps another take on the same thing - and I myself have been subject to it for years without realizing it.
In a way, I have "experts" on "hoarding" and my own Frustrated Family Members to thank for that, despite their interference - because it was the sheer frustration that drove me to look for deeper answers, and doing things contrary to everything they say enabled me to more fully activate my creative, introspective, problem-solving brain.
It's time to become extremely aware of this, and to start fixing it.