Some hoarding in humans may be a form of mental illness, specifically obsessive-compulsive disorder, where the perceived importance of the hoarded items far exceeds their true value
Taken from Wikipedia (although not the most authoritative source), it suggests that hoarding may be a form of mental illness, which no one on this Forum would likely disagree with since we know that we are quite obsessed with reels. On the other hand, in order for the act of collecting/hoarding items to really be a mental illness, apparently the perceived value must "far exceed their true value". Given this caveat, our "hoarding" really is not a mental illness since we are the most knowledgeable in terms of what the value of reels are, given that we deal with them on a daily basis. Although others may not agree with our assessed value of a given reel (or other fishing paraphernalia) it is simply because they are not sufficiently familiar to be knowledgeable about such items and to be able to assess appropriate value.
The term hoarding is used frequently with a negative connotation, but consider that animals also hoard and such behavior is considered quite normal and appropriate. People do the same too, so why should that be viewed negatively, unless it creates problems either for oneself or others? Some people hoard money, but few seem to think that's a problem. I actually think hoarding money is a big problem because money is only a vehicle of trade. Money in and of itself has no value, and its value comes only from what one can do with it. If one simply hoards money and doesn't do anything with it, then it's worthless (for that person).
So, maybe you are a hoarder. However, that doesn't mean it's a problem or that it's bad. Still, if anyone feels that hoarding reels and other fishing stuff is a problem, I'm available for consultation as to what to do about it.
