What causes filth? What is the relationship between filth and poverty? Why do some people who could choose to be tidy, or choose to wash, choose not to?
Theroux describes unsavory conditions on a delayed Tanzanian train in his heavy-going and disjointed recollection of a journey from Cairo to Cape Town (Theroux P. Dark star safari. 2003. Penguin, London. p.266):
No showers made this hot train reek with the smell of unwashed humanity. The toilets were vile. The dining car was filthy, not that there was any food after such delays... A little activity with a broom, a mop, a scrubbing brush, and the trip would have been agreeable. Delays did not seriously bother me. I had no deadline, nor anyone to meet me. But the dirt, the litter, the shit, and the drunks made this side of travel in Africa hard to bear... The pressure of numbers and very poor maintenance made smooth running impossible, but there was no excuse for the filth.
Having just posted my own disjointed notes of an African journey to this blog, I could relate well to his observations. But it was the above passage that got me thinking: What causes filth? What is the relationship between filth and poverty? Why do some people who could choose to be tidy, or choose to wash, choose not to?
The causes of filth
What makes the girl outside Century 21 in Manhattan drop her cigarette butt onto the pavement before entering the store, walking right past the ash tray provided exclusively for the purpose of extinguishing cancer sticks without causing litter? What makes the kid in the back-seat of a car on the M1 near Nottingham throw his empty crisp packet out the window? How do people get shit onto the wall of a toilet cubicle at waist-height unless they do it deliberately? Why are McDonald's drink containers rolling around the Pedestrian Zone in Brisbane when there are regularly-emptied rubbish bins nearby?
Maybe it's laziness... lack of education... poor role models... lack of insight (e.g. mental illness)... spite/ resentment of authority... trying to impress/ show-off... indifference... incapacity (e.g. drunkenness).... lack of respect...
Poverty and (un)tidiness
Have you noticed when traveling that in less developed countries lack of environmental concern (and with it, rubbish) becomes more obvious? Paradoxically, I have read that the United States is the planet's biggest polluter, yet it is (by some measures) the most "developed" nation. But there is an environmental voice in the US and in other developed countries that simply can't be heard in the developing world. It's almost as if the amount of litter on the road verge is somehow proportionate to that country's per capita Gross National Product. When a country reaches a certain point in the life cycle of nations (and yes, I mean to imply that even the mighty will fall) it seems to discover a concern for the environment. Maybe, when people are able to think beyond where the next meal will come from, they have time to reflect on such things?
A poor choice
We've all encountered people who don't bathe (at least, not often). The smell of stale sweat. The visible remnants of Tuesday's spilt lunch. The feel of a grit-encrusted palm. The taste of Blue Stilton prompting the memory of an unfortunate encounter with the crud between someone's toes... Theroux asserts there is no excuse for filth. What about human filth? In most cultures soap and water are both readily available and inexpensive. Why, then, do some people choose not to exercise their use? Are they trying to make a statement? Maybe it's for the same reasons as listed above?
Why do some people choose to live in a mess? I have visited homes where all manner of junk was piled so high and so widely you had to side-step through it to cross the room. I have left houses with fluff, food, and faeces imbedded in the sole of my shoes. I have visited homes within which I had refused to sit down, for fear of adhering to the furniture. It does not take money to be tidy. I agree with Theroux; there is no excuse.
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I just got back from cleaning my grown sister's house. It is filthy; much like the description above. I clean it because we have tried various other family interventions and nothing has ever worked. I can't stand my neices and nephew living in those conditions. My Dad attributes it to laziness but it has to be something more than that. Who would be that lazy that they would want to live like that? It must be some sort of mental illness. Does anybody have any experience with this?
Mental illness is never a given; most of the cases I've seen as a GP (family physician) had no formal psychiatric diagnosis. It can be difficult to understand people who have values that seem very different from your own. Sometimes we have to learn to reluctantly accept what we cannot change.
My family has known two other families with this problem. The first family were an elderly couple who had survived childhood starvation during WWII and early on while "clean" were hoarders. As they advanced in age the problem intensified, indirectly causing the death of the man. His surviving spouse declined all medical and dental care, her teeth were but black stubs, and her home was filled to the rafters - doors unable to close - because of massive piles of rotting food. The stench was beyond belief. Mind you, there were highly educated people, scientists.
Second family; via our sons childhood playmate relationship, long term family friends. Failure to pick up/wash/clean has always been an issue. When the boys were little I always insisted the sleepovers were to be in my home and tried to restrict play days to my home as well. Now the boys are adults and the problem is worse yet as the structure of the house is failing and not one of the three adults make the slightest effort to so much as wipe a surface with a rag. They even have a large pet bird, free to poop everywhere - and there are splats gone un-wiped every few inches, even on brand new furniture. (Garbage was pushed aside with a shovel to make room for a new sofa)
This simply has to be a mental illness, no illicit drug use in either case.
We have cleaned and repaired both dwellings more than once and the filth is back in no time.
Question is - what can be done to help?
I agree it must be mental illness. People who are very close to me exhibit this behavior as well. I have tried for years to understand why they won't throw away food that has rotted, wash dishes, sweep or mop consistently.
The one common denominator seems to be a tendency towards reclusiveness. Most people who exhibit these behaviors seem to have some form of anti-social behavior as well.
I found it. It's called Diogenes syndrome (characterized by extreme self-neglect, syllogomania (hoarding rubbish), and living in general squalor).
Diogenes syndrome, and hoarding in general, is a little-studied phenomenon. One of the few geriatricians writing about this problem, Dr. Carlos Reyes-Ortiz, reports that in about 60 percent of cases the problem is not related to a mental disorder, but to a particular lifestyle and certain personality traits, such as reclusiveness, suspiciousness, obstinacy and other isolating tendencies.
In 40 percent of the cases, there is some related mental disorder such as schizophrenia, depression, dementia and alcoholism, he says. In many of these situations, the older adult lacks the ability to assess his or her environment, while in other situations there's a long-standing lifestyle choice or an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I can't begin to tell how many years I have felt obligated to attempt to clean, but be hurt by the filth that follows in such a relative short period of time. After dealing with this progressively worsening problem almost my entire life, I have almost completely given up. I try to sweep and mop sometime, but a week later it looks like I haven't. I can't afford to pay a cleaning service.
If anyone else out there is dealing with a loved one with this problem, please let me know how you cope. It is burdensome and heart-breaking.
Thanks for this Adwoa. This is a difficult one, because no two cases likely share the same aetiology. Undoubtably mental illness is a contributory factor for some people who live in squalor. But we have to be careful about generalising this to the point of saying that all such cases are mental ill. It also strikes me that Diogenes syndrome may be used as a convenient for label some cases that are merely examples of the medicalisation of social behaviours, a trend that is increasing in our society (see here).
my daughter-in-law will not clean up after herself. my son will clean, but becomes frustrated when his wife turns around and l trashes everything all over again. She will continually through wrappers, empty drink containers, anything and everything on the floor or on furniture. She will cook and leftover food will stay on the stove, sink, table, etc., for days. I don't know how she and my son are still together. Her bathroom is a total mess with her trash is everywhere. Her closet is empty because all her clothes are on the floor--dirty or clean?---who knows!
The only consolation is that she keeps my gandson's room clean and tidy. All his clothes are hung on hangers in the closet or folded neatly in his drawers. She keeps herself and my grandson clean at all times. You wouldn't suspect how she lives if you saw her on the street. She is school teacher!
Anyone familiar with this?
Yes, sadly. The nature of my work takes me into peoples homes and I have been appalled at the state people live in with their children. These families are not poor and many have expensive apliances i.e. big screen TV etc. Its a shame there appears to be no vacuum cleaner or even mop and bucket. I'm not talking about untidyness, these are unsanitary homes to raise children. The pure disbelief is what brought me to this page. On occasions where these homes have been cleaned the residents are over joyed at the transformation and yet as the weeks go by nothing is done to continue that enjoyment. Its interesting that someone has commented regarding reclusiveness as a behvioural trait, as many of these adults are home most of the time and this makes me wonder more as to why they dont spend time cleaning. The Dr. also mentioned that people live how they want, however he is in the position surely to see the effects of this through the adverse health of children presenting with various illness attributed to the filth they live in!