This Online Group Is Dedicated To Ephemera, And Here Are 85 Of The Most Interesting Pieces People Showed Off

There is a subtle but important line between sentimentality on one side and hoarding on the other. The former is healthy, grounded, and puts you in control. The latter is unhealthy, a sign of deeper emotional or mental issues, and places you in the role of the victim of your impulses.

Individuals with hoarding disorder have difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, no matter their (lack of) value.

The International OCD Foundation reports that between 2% to 6% of the world’s population suffers from hoarding disorder.

Hoarding disorder tends to affect men and women at similar rates. It is a universal phenomenon across different countries, cultures, and backgrounds around the world.

Symptoms begin appearing early on in life, between the ages of 11 and 15, and can start interfering with your everyday functioning by your mid-20s. By your mid-30s, your hoarding disorder can lead to clinically significant impairment and is likely to meet the criteria for a full diagnosis.

That being said, hoarding symptoms are thrice as common in older adults, aged 55+, than younger adults.

The vast majority (75%) of individuals with this disorder also have a co-occurring mental health condition, such as major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Roughly 20% of people who have a hoarding disorder also have obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Gregory L. Jantz, Ph.D., who authored The Anxiety Reset: A Life-Changing Approach to Overcoming Fear, Stress, Worry, Panic Attacks, OCD and More, explains that around one in four people with OCD are also compulsive hoarders.

Hoarding is often accompanied by varying levels of anxiety and depression, and creates “clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning.” One of the consequences is that you are no longer able to maintain a safe space.

“Their compulsion causes the hoarders' mental, emotional, physical, and financial health to suffer. Most tragically, their relationships unravel as families and friends struggle to cope with their condition,” writes Jantz.

“Neuroimaging studies have revealed peculiar commonalities among hoarders including severe emotional attachment to inanimate objects and extreme anxiety when making decisions.”

The paradox is that hoarding has a bizarre relationship with anxiety: it both relieves and generates it.

“The more hoarders accumulate, the more insulated they feel from the world and its dangers. But of course, the more they accumulate, the more isolated they become from the outside world, including family and friends. Even the thought of discarding or cleaning out hoarded items produces extreme feelings of panic and discomfort,” Jantz warns.

“It can be difficult to determine whether someone is a hoarder or just a pack rat, someone who just likes to hang on to things. The main determinant of whether a behavior is just a personal preference or a disorder usually has to do with whether, and how much, that behavior has begun to negatively impact daily functioning.”

Hoarding disorder may arise from traumatic events, persistent difficulty making decisions, and having family members who are hoarders. What’s more, hoarders tend to be socially withdrawn or isolated. They may start hoarding as a way to find comfort.

The ‘Ephemera’ community has been intriguing, entertaining, and providing nostalgia trips for everyone online for nearly a decade and a half. It was initially created in mid-2012 as a way for internet users to feature written, printed, and other recorded matter that was never intended to be kept or saved.

The friendly team of moderators who run the group invites everyone to share their “advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, matchbooks, postcards, ticket stubs, old certificates—anything someone else might find interesting, enjoyable, or discussion worthy.”

The goal is to show off “interesting bits of historical detritus.”

According to the mods of ‘Ephemera,’ items should have writing on them, be printed, but they do not have to be paper.

“The item must have been created for a TEMPORARY purpose, with the express or implied understanding that it would serve no practical future use.”

What this means, in practice, is that most books, some souvenirs, and special commemorative items do NOT count as ephemera.

After you’ve enjoyed these images and upvoted your favorite ones, we’d love to hear from you! Share your perspective, stories, and photos in the comments at the very bottom of this list.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how sentimental would you say you are? Do you save and keep lots of ephemeral things?

What are the most sentimental items that you have that you could never part with?

Where do you personally think the line between sentimentality and hoarding lies? Let us know.