A person very close to me searches the nearby garbage cans every day and brings home smelly leftovers of food, although we are not poor at all. This has been going on for several years and the problem is getting worse. This person starts fights when the garbage is thrown away and brings new ones. Sometimes it feeds on them, explaining that "God's gift cannot be wasted" or that "providence has sent it to me." He treats the search for this rubbish as getting a valuable specimen for the collection. Fighting this peculiar "hobby" is very unpleasant for the whole family. It is also a common cause of food poisoning. What is this disease and is it possible to cure it? I would like to add that the problem concerns a person over 60.
This is the so-called "gathering syndrome", usually involving older people who are excited about the idea that nothing they think might still be of use to them is wasted. Usually they bring home various unnecessary items, broken appliances, newspapers, they do not get rid of anything.
In this case, it's about food waste, which is already a bit dangerous. It is not a defined disease, but a personality disorder that increases with age. There is also no specific treatment method. In this case, one could introduce the principle "nothing is wasted, we collect biological waste into a container and pass it to the farmer concerned". You could then use that person's exploratory activity and make them feel that they are doing something really useful. As a last resort, you can enter into an agreement with the Sanepid station and ask the clerk to check the situation and give appropriate orders.
Remember that our expert's answer is informative and will not replace a visit to the doctor.
Tomasz JaroszewskiSecond degree psychiatrist
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