Why do collectors get the fever?

The joys of 
being a fan and collecting have been on my mind ever since I saw "Fever 
Pitch." In the movie Jimmy Fallon plays Ben, a Boston Red Sox 
fan. His home was stocked with memorabilia, from the time he got up in the 
morning to when he got ready for bed, all he saw was red.



But what did Drew Barrymore's character, Lindsey, get for her troubles 
besides a beau who was always busy during baseball season? She found a
passionate man who knew how to love life.

Experts agree that passion is typically the common denominator amongst 
collectors.

 However, Canadian Psychiatrist and author of "First Aid to Mental Illness" Dr.
 Michael G. Rayel doesn't think that there's a certain personality type for
 collectors.

Rayel said collecting is an individual's choice based on their 
passions.

 Some, he says, like 
music fans collecting CDs, may collect so they always have access to the 
music that makes them happy.

Sometimes, collections serve as trophies
 pointing the way to people's interests. But Rayel did offer one 
generalization.



"We all want something to represent ourselves," Rayel said.



Susan Neri-Friedwald, a behavior modification specialist and founder of the
 New Behavior Institute in Manhattan, says that surrounding ourselves with 
things creates a sense of security.

She added that we identify with the
 objects we collect and they strengthen our sense of self.



"We might collect things that remind us of our childhood, connecting us to
 the feelings of safety we had then," she said. "We might collect things that 
reflect who we wish to be and it makes us feel more powerful and more connected to those images."



So collected objects are manifestations of our inner hopes...?