What Is Compulsive Hoarding?
Compulsive hoarding is recognized as a subcategory of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It may, however, be a symptom that appears as part of other mental disorders. This condition is characterized by accumulating and hoarding abnormal quantities of objects that have no obvious value.
Most objects can become the targets of hoarding, but the most common ones are:
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Flyers
- Receipts
- Bills
- Household garbage
- Empty boxes
- Canned foods
- Letters and emails
- Furniture
- Waste
What Is the Difference Between Hoarding and Collecting?
There is a considerable difference between hoarders and collectors. Collectors may accumulate various unusual objects, such as pins, badges, bottle caps, etc. However, true collectors feel a sense of pride in their collection. It is a social activity, and they may participate in meetings or be members of a club with other collectors who share the same interest. In addition, while some collections may take up a substantial amount of room, they don’t necessarily infringe on the collector’s living space.
What Causes Hoarding?
There seem to be two key motives that lead to hoarding: the first is utilitarian, and the second is sentimental. In the former case, affected individuals tell themselves “I’ll need this someday” or ask “What if this information, recipe, receipt, empty box, etc., is needed by me or someone else in future?” Needless to say, “someday” or the “future” never arrives, and the affected person continues to gather and hoard a growing pile of objects that “might be useful one of these days.”
Sentimental hoarders are generally people who develop an abnormal attachment to certain objects, until it reaches the point that the objects are seen as having their own personalities or being an extension of the hoarder’s personality. Separation from these objects is therefore intolerable. Hoarders, however, often have both utilitarian and sentimental motives for their actions.
Are Hoarders Just Disorganized People?
The homes of hoarders often seem to be disorderly and disorganized; surprisingly, however, these individuals do not lack organizational skills or a sense of responsibility.
For hoarders, the higgledy-piggledy piles of objects are always seen as “temporary.” They tell themselves that they just need some time to arrange or sort the objects properly or to organize their information. Of course, the situation is never really temporary, because for hoarders there is never enough time to deal with it.
In fact, generally speaking, the only time when affected individuals will decide to deal with their clutter is when they are confronted in therapy. Paradoxically, hoarders are often well-organized and responsible in other areas of their life; they may even be concerned about the possibility of making a mistake that will lead them to further hoarding.
What Are the Long-Term Impacts of Hoarding?
Hoarders are often very isolated and live in an extremely constrained manner. They are reluctant to let people enter their homes because they may be embarrassed by the clutter in which they reside.
Their condition can also cause them to feel guilty, and they may suffer from depression. It is difficult for hoarders to begin or maintain a relationship, because their partner usually has a limited understanding of the problem.
As well, hoarders may experience real difficulty in living their everyday lives. For example: it may be difficult for them to access the kitchen or bathroom because of the clutter; they may be unable to find important letters or documents that are hidden somewhere amid the piles; and they may be regularly threatened with eviction by landlords or other authorities.
How Is Compulsive Hoarding Treated?
The first thing to do is educate affected persons about the disorder and encourage them to seek treatment NOW (and not when they feel like they have time).
Intensive cognitive therapy is usually required in order for affected people to realize the idea that “I’ll need it someday” is not realistic. It is important to establish an order for removing the clutter in a gradual manner. The first step is to organize the clutter into manageable categories. This sorting is not just a matter of “moving the objects around” or shifting them into new piles that will accumulate in another part of the person’s environment.
Organizing the objects is followed by the second stage, which is to throw some of them out. The action of throwing out objects must be undertaken immediately after the sorting, as any delay may lead to procrastination.
While dealing with the clutter, any other problematic hoarding habits have to be treated. It is important that affected people adopt and maintain non-obsessive methods for dealing with flyers, garbage, information, etc., in their daily lives: e.g., deciding which coupons in the supermarket flyer to keep on the day it arrives in the mailbox, rather than keeping it until the “right moment” to take a look at it, because, of course, the right moment never comes.
Suggesting that hoarders simply toss all the clutter into a garbage truck or dump it in the street, regardless of their wishes, is absolutely not recommended as a strategy. To family members frustrated by the clutter, this may seem like an obvious option for solving the problem; however, this method of action is sure to traumatize the hoarder and reinforce their obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of course, this kind of strategy may be justified if the clutter is causing significant health or fire risks—but, whatever the case, it is always devastating to the hoarder.
For more information
Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save & How You Can Stop, by F. Neziroglu, J. Bubrick & J. Yaryura-Tobias.
Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving and Hoarding, by D.F. Tolin.