Driven To Order: Storage Can Be The Result Of Trauma

How we keep things is a very revealing aspect of social norms, nature and human psychology. Keeping things is common aspect of the living experience. Perishables have been stored in a million different ways throughout the ages. Perishables have been stored in pits lined with sage, clay and rock, and have been kept in bark and skins. Food has been kept in streams, trees, caves and little sheds. Clothes have been stored in chests, closets, boxes and shelves. manuscripts and hardback books are kept on shelves, on coffee tables and now online. People use mini storage buildings withroll up doors, basements, attics and garages for keeping things. How and why we store things is often a combination of common sense and twisted psychology.

Bob was a classic case of storage psychosis. Bob loved to explore. Bob had a sense of adventure, an unbridled optimism and a new car. One of the best features of this car for Bob was the rear doors that opened up to reveal a well designed space for storage. Bob loved an organized space because it made him feel like there was order in the world. He loaded his car with his belongings and drove to the mountains for a camping trip. Bob loved cooking good meals in the outdoors. He packed all the fixingsin his car which will last for three days. He had his dry goods carefully stored in water tight interlocking containers neatly stacked in the shelf like indentation over the rear tire. He put his perishables in a built-in cooler|cooler built into the car}. He placed all of his gear in cargo nets and stow boxes located in the back of his vehicle. Every Item had its spot and Bob was very happy.

As a child Bob had to deal with the volatile nature of his father, a man that drank to numb his own pain. His father would come home and either lift Bob up into a full body embrace, or he would scowl and snarl sending the young boy to his room. Sometimes without warning a playful wrestling game turned violent. Bob was terribly afraid of his father His father would call for him to play and Bob would approach timidly, fearfully, getting more indignation from his old man. After a violent episode, one where his dad seemed to be playing, but would grip him too tightly, twisted his arm too hard or said too many mean things, Bob would go to his room and play with his blocks, setting them up carefully and putting the all in order.

In his new car, his life as an adult free of the childhood terrors, Bob drove into a beautiful mountain campsite with all his well organized gear. He parked at a beautiful site and cooked a tastey meal. The park ranger had told him about the bear boxes, storage containers to keep food out of the paws of the black bears that liked to wander the campground. Bob would normally heed reasoned advice as he was a sensible guy. But everything was so well organized that Bob couldn’t bear unpacking it. His desire for order influenced a decision which would prove costly. Bob awoke in the middle of the night to find a bear ripping open his car and create havoc to get to his food.

We are all influenced by intricate combination of thoughts, desires and cultural needs. How and why we store things can offer awareness and better decisions.