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When an infant discovers his mother's absence; this is the causative factor for the baby's reaching out to have and to hold an object, thus denying the fact of separation.
Collectors themselves are dedicated, serious, infatuated, beset and usually cannot explain or understand this all-consuming drive, nor can they halt their collecting habit. Is collecting an obsession, an addiction? Is it a passion or just an urge or need to hold, to possess or to accumulate? Observing collectors, they have an unrelenting need, even hunger for acquisitions. This ongoing search for acquisitions is usually the core element of their personality.
Collectors select, gather and keep objects of subjective value. These objects contribute to their sense of identity and function as a source of their self-definition. Often the process of acquisition is a transparent source of excitement while prompting stirrings of guilt. In some instances collecting can become an all-consuming passion. Collectors delight in sharing their joy and appreciation with like-minded enthusiasts.
Collecting is an enriching respite from the sometimes frustrating demands of everyday life. Collecting is the never-ending search for yet another acquisition. It generates excitement, anxious expectation, a thrill and is usually balanced by uncertainty and indecision. Is this new addition what you really want, can you afford it and is this the right time to become its owner?
Repeated acquisitions serve as a vehicle allowing the collector to cope with his inner uncertainty and gives him a way of dealing with the dread of renewed
anxiety dealing with the conflict between his valid needs and his projected longings. After making the next acquisition, the collector moves quickly through feelings of blissful satisfaction, inner excitement toward exhibitionistic elation. He revels in the intricacies of the find, its discovery, his clever ploys used to effect the acquisition, the fortuitous circumstances of his lucky strike, the energy expended in obtaining the object, the preoccupation with the challenge and occasionally the waste of time for futile attempts.
This unconscious continued urge motivates the search. The obtainment of one more object does not bring an end to the longing but instead spurs its recurrence over and over. Every new addition, whether found, given, bought or discovered bears the stamp of promise and magical compensation. Ownership is the most intimate relationship one can have to objects. It satisfies an inner security and rewards us with an outer applause. Collecting can be a magical means of undoing the strains and stresses of early life and awards us a promise of security and goodness for the future.
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