为什么我们会囤积无用的东西？

Though humans have probably been hoarding ever since they existed, we’ve seen this phenomenon peculiarly unfold in several ways over the last few years – from panic-ridden shoppers clearing out toilet paper aisles to those who stock up on more bread and milk than they can consume, to governments accused of hoarding COVID-19 vaccines.

尽管人类可能自存在以来就一直在囤积食物，但在过去几年中，我们看到囤积现象以多种方式出现——包括抢空卫生纸货架的恐慌的购物者，到囤积过量的面包和牛奶的人，和被指控囤积 COVID-19 疫苗的政府。

“Hoarding is a phenomenon where the person finds it difficult to discard or let go of things that are objectively not helpful,” counselling psychologist Devika Kapoor  said. “But to the person who hoards, they do see a lot of value in these objects ” 

咨询心理学家Devika Kapoor说：“囤积是一种人们发现很难丢弃或放弃客观上没有帮助的东西的现象。但对于囤积者来说，他们确实从在这些物品中看到了很多价值。”

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies hoarding as a medical disorder, stressing that the issue can sometimes be complex, and is often linked to other serious mental health issues like clinical depression. 

世界卫生组织 (WHO) 将囤积归类为一种医学疾病，强调这个问题有时可能很复杂，并且通常与临床抑郁症等其他严重的心理健康问题有关。

In developing countries like India, where it’s almost a mandate for every household to have a plastic bag stuffed with plastic bags, hoarding is a common tendency. And according to Kapoor, there’s a deeper reason behind that. 

在像印度这样的发展中国家，几乎每个家庭都有一个装满塑料袋的塑料袋，囤积是一种普遍的趋势。根据Kapoor的说法，这背后有更深层次的原因。

“Most Indians operate from a scarcity mindset (when you are so obsessed with the lack of something that you can’t focus on anything else) because of macro-traumatic events that have happened in our country, like wars and the Partition. This then plays out with them being unable to discard things, or even appraising the value of something in a positive way.”

“由于我们国家发生的大型创伤事件，例如战争和分区，大多数印度人都抱有稀缺的心态生活（过分关注缺乏的东西而无法专注于其他任何事情）。这导致他们难以丢弃东西，甚至无法以积极的方式评估某物的价值。”

For Kapil Darbari, a 42-year-old bank employee, his habit of hoarding old gadgets that no longer work is a result of growing up in a country where accessing these gadgets was not always easy. “I grew up in a middle class family, where buying something like a Walkman was very expensive for us. I had to save a lot to buy it. ”

对于 42 岁的银行员工 Kapil Darbari 来说，他习惯于囤积不再使用的旧设备，因为他成长于一个这种设备时而稀缺的国家。“我在一个中产阶级家庭长大，随身听之类的东西对我们来说非常昂贵，我得存很多钱才买得到它。” 

Darbari has kept every device he’s ever used over the last 20 years, from the MP4 player he bought on his first trip to Goa as a teenager to his very first flip phone. “I’ve kept every gadget I ever owned since 2002,” he added. “My wife hates me for it because they take up a lot of space.”  

Darbari 保留了他过去 20 年来使用过的所有设备，从他十几岁第一次去果阿（印度地名）旅行时购买的 MP4到他的第一部翻盖手机。“自 2002 年以来，我一直保留着我拥有的所有小工具，”他补充道。“我的妻子很讨厌我这一点，因为囤积它们占用了很多空间。”

照片由Edwin Wilson提供

For some, the memories attached to seemingly useless items often provide a sense of comfort and security. Others, though, may feel it’s their way of sparing the Earth from more waste. That’s the case for 26-year-old engineer Edwin Wilson, who finds it tough to throw away empty batteries. 

对于一些人来说，看似无用的物品承载的记忆往往会提供一种舒适和安全感。不过，其他人可能会觉得这是他们节约地球资源的一种生活方式。26 岁的工程师 Edwin Wilson 就是这种情况，他发现自己很难扔掉旧电池。

“ When the batteries die off we don’t like to throw them away because they contain chemicals which are not good for the environment,” he said. As a result, Wilson has kept hundreds of old batteries in a Tupperware container. “Sometimes, we even try using them when we desperately need batteries, and when one seems to work, we realize it may not be completely useless.”

他说：“当电池没电时，我们不喜欢扔掉它们，因为它们含有危害环境不利的化学物质，”Wilson将数百个旧电池保存在特百惠盒子里。“有时，我们甚至在迫切需要电池时尝试使用它们，而有的似乎可以继续工作。因此，我们意识到这些电池可能并非完全没用。”

 1. mandate n. 授权，委托

The bank had no mandate to honor the cheque. 

银行没有得到指令来承兑这张支票

2. traumatic adj. （经历）痛苦难忘的，造成精神创伤的

The condition is most often caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury. 

这种情况通常是由中风或创伤性脑损伤引起的。