Collector Care Series: Hoarding Around the World: MEXICO featuring Nacho Eguiarte

Hola Coleccionistas! 

As you all know I have a passion for helping those with Hoarding Disorder. What you might not know is that I was born in Mexico, and have a passion for helping this culture as well. 

I have always wanted to know about the prevalence of hoarding in Mexico. Do people hoard? What is hoarding disorder called? What are the treatment plans available? So who better to ask than Mexican Professional Organizer Nacho Eguiarte?!

I met Nacho online via social media about 6 months ago. He was interviewed by Geralin Thomas, Linda Samuels, and Helena Alkhas. I started following him, and really enjoy his posts in Spanish about organizing. When I read he was going to go for his certificate in Chronic Disorganization - I knew he would be perfect for this article. 

Rachel: How popular is Professional Organizing in Mexico? Who are some Mexican Professional Organizers that you look up to?

Nacho: Professional Organizing is not that popular, talking about organization. You can separate people in two big groups; those who like being organized and have either an organizing routine or an iron discipline to keep things in control. On the other hand you have people who just work and live, in a way that they don’t want to worry about how things work meanwhile they function the way they are supposed to. That could apply to politics, health, house, etc.

 

As Mexico has become more and more consumerist, population have now the opportunity to buy things for the sake of buying. So, houses become more stuffed and the necessity of having those possessions in order has become clear. Also, since we watch shows on cable or satellite TV about renovations, interior design and organization, we slowly realized that are different areas of expertise new to us and want to try some of them in our homes.

Big stores like Wal-Mart, The Home Depot or Department Stores, are now aiming to the organization market, offering anything from boxes, containers and storage systems. So, in the short time would be like a “Trendy Activity”, organizing your home will be the new Tupperware Party, then people will realize organization is not just a trend is an actual way to live better and healthier. That is the point we will see in Mexico, happening sooner than later.

About Mexican Organizers according to NAPO, there are four P.O registered in the whole country, two of the in Mexico City, one in Monterrey (third largest city) and myself in Guadalajara (second largest city). But, there are maybe half a dozen who don’t belong to NAPO. Some of them have or had web sites at the time I started blogging about organization; the funny thing, is most of them are more focus to tell the ladies the ways of domestic economy or others talk about office productivity, the organization side is more collateral than a main topic.

ClaudiaTorre NAPO member from Organizarte and I, are collaborating in Spanish Organizing Connection at Helena Alkhas’ blog “A Personal Organizer”. I post 3 times a month and Claudia once on Sundays. Funny thing is, I have more communication with fellow Organizers in USA, like you, Geralin Thomas, Helena herself (great mentor) and Linda Samuels.

Rachel: How prevalent is Hoarding Disorder in Mexico? What is the word for "hoarding" in Spanish? Are Mexican people aware of this disorder? What are some resources for people in Mexico who suffer from this disorder?

Nacho: “Acumulación Compulsiva” is the equivalent to Hoarding. Diogenes Syndrome is the way the disorder is know. There’s a tendency to believe that is just a senile people’s problem, and the hoarding behavior is studied as part of the syndrome not in particular.

I think the misconception about hoarding being an old people behavior is because our nation, always have lived under the shadows of scarcity, inflation, and economic crisis. Since I remember our grandparents or parents always taught us about being modest, having a good use of things, fixing everything when went broken, not tossing something you could use in the future, mending your clothes, not wasting food or resources, and we grew up with those thought very well imprinted in our memories.

So you can see, in some ages having a hoarding behavior could be read as a person who is foreseen futures necessities. And when you get old enough to qualify as and old person, you’ll become instantly a crazy old man or woman, because you like to have any kind of trash in your place. There is no awareness about the hoarding behavior, and knowing the disorder is not just about senility, is about an education we had and the overlapping of sad or dreadful episodes

As awareness is not clear and there’s no government project or aid specifically aimed to hoarding behavior, rather than seniors with mental disease or those who have no resources or pension. In some cases seniors and their families could access to professional help but as I told you, just as mental health issue in general, not in a specific fashion. If the family has economic resources would pay for a Psychiatrist or Therapist, but in the best of cases will be just about addressing the mental issue, neither the things nor the space filled with all kind of stuff.

I feel blessed and grateful, you invited me to this interview, because someday, I want to achieve the qualifications to become a Chronic Disorganization specialist, having proper classes with the Institute of Challenging Disorganization and being a subscriber.
Thank you so much for having me in your blog.

Rachel: Nacho, thank you for stopping by and for your detailed answers. Good luck with your certification, and thank you for sharing all about Hoarding Disorder in Mexico. 

I hope that more resources are made available in the future so that Mexican people are formally educated on this matter.
 

Rachel Seavey, blogger for Collector Care

Are you a Spanish speaking Professional Organizer? Please list yourself on this blog.
Are you a related professional with tips and advice for Hoarding Disorder in Mexico? Please leave a comment on this blog. 

Thank you for visiting and if you would like to read this blog in Spanish, please select "translate" on the bottom left of this page. 

Collector Care Professional Organizers

925-548-7750 rachel@collectorcare.com