Compulsive Hoarding (an Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorder)
Hoarding is the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. Hoarding disorder affects an estimated 2% to 6% of the U.S. population. (clevelandclinic.org)
“Someone who hoards may exhibit the following:
Inability to throw away possessions
Severe anxiety when attempting to discard items
Great difficulty categorizing or organizing possessions
Indecision about what to keep or where to put things
Distress, such as feeling overwhelmed or embarrassed by possessions
Suspicion of other people touching items
Obsessive thoughts and actions: fear of running out of an item or of needing it in the future; checking the trash for accidentally discarded objects
Functional impairments, including loss of living space, social isolation, family or marital discord, financial difficulties, health hazards (adaa.org)”
“Compulsive hoarding includes ALL three of the following:
A person collects and keeps a lot of items, even things that appear useless or of little value to most people, and
These items clutter the living spaces and keep the person from using their rooms as they were intended, and
These items cause distress or problems in day-to-day activities.”
“Some estimate that as many as 1 in 4 people with OCD also have compulsive hoarding. Recent research suggests that nearly 1 in 5 compulsive hoarders have non-hoarding OCD symptoms (iocdf hoarding fact sheet).”
Hoarding vs. Normal Clutter and/or Collecting
“Simply collecting or owning lots of things does not mean someone has HD. A major feature of HD is the disorganized nature of the clutter — in most cases, the living spaces can no longer be used for everyday living as they were intended.“ (x)
