Solutions for Compulsive Hoarding

Compulsive hoarding is a condition whereby seemingly useless items are accumulated to an excessive degree and never thrown away potentially causing cramped living conditions, squalor, disease, not to mention health and fire hazards. Hoarders tend to be reclusive, hiding their amassed useless possessions from the rest of the world, too embarrassed to let anyone in for fear they might take it all away. Clutter is a different animal in that there is just might not be enough storage space to put everything. The difference is that while clutter might also be excessive, rooms can still be used for what they were intended for. Hoarders have whole rooms that are inaccessible due to the accumulation of meaningless items, often having to tunnel to get to other rooms. Collectors typically are hobbyists who collect certain things, like cars, figurines, or salt-and-pepper shakers. These people are proud of what they have, generally keep it well maintained, and frequently use it to form relationships with other collectors of the same item or items.

1. What is hoarding? General definition along with the whats and whys of the typical hoarder.
2. Psychiatric Definition of Hoarding Proposed designation of the hoarding disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-V), the standard tool for diagnosing psychiatric disorders.
3. Hoarding Overview Gives overview to those who might be suffering from hoarding on what to look for and what to expect, along with therapeutic options.
4. Hoarding vs. Cluttering Differences between hoarding and cluttering.
5. Hoarding vs. Collecting Differences between hoarding and collecting.
6. What do people hoard? The typical items that are hoarded.

There are several types of hoarding. The first, and most common is hoarding in the elderly. It usually begins early in life, becoming increasingly worse as age and mental incapacitation increases. It tends to get more severe with worsening dementia. Another type, animal hoarding is described as having an extreme number of animals in poor living conditions with resultant neglect and suffering of the animals as well as the hoarders. It is thought to be similar to those with the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) based type. In this type, hoarding is driven by the OCD tendencies of ritualistic behavior, need for order, or fears of contamination. With all of these types, there is increased danger of fire, disease, infestations, and neglect of basic human needs. Sometimes, the hoarding is so extreme that homes are condemned as unfit to live in, affecting entire neighborhoods especially if there are infestations or fires. Some communities have taken action and created task forces for those determined at risk.

1. Types of Hoarding Delineating the three major types of hoarding, in the elderly, animals, and obsessive-compulsive hoarding.
2. Animal Hoarding Explanation of excessive accumulation of animals, the repercussions, prevalence, etc.
3. Hoarding and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) How hoarding is related to OCD.
4. OCD Definition of OCD.
5. Associated Psychiatric Disorders Excellent newsletter put out by Boston College and Smith College outlining the other mental disorders that can be associated with hoarding along with a Q&A.
6. Checklist The Wade-Bennett Life-Clutter scale.
7. Other Rating Scales Other questionnaires and testing techniques to assess for hoarding behaviors and/or tendencies.
8. Risks of Hoarding The rising incidence of hoarding in the United States.
9. Insurance Risks The risks associated with writing a homeowner's policy for those who hoard.
10. When Hoarding is a Public Problem When emergency action is necessary from the local fire, health, and building departments.
11. Fire Hazards and Hoarding Fire safety issues.

Diagnosis of this disorder can be difficult, especially if the person is reclusive. Research has indicated that hoarders have usually had some form of mental disorder prior to the hoarding diagnosis. For example, those who keep too many animals have usually been abused or neglected in childhood. Other disorders associated with hoarding include schizophrenia, mental retardation, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), eating disorders, and autism. Each of these conditions is treated differently. If the hoarding is a result of dementia or decreased mental capacity, retraining in basic organizational skills and problem solving often proves effective in this age group. These people will usually have to have constant monitoring to address those issues as they come up. Those who hoard animals and/or have OCD typically benefit from a specialized form of cognitive-behavioral therapy, which teaches alternative ways of thinking in incremental baby steps. This coupled with anxiety/depression medications has been found to decrease the likelihood of a recurrence.

1. Diagnosis Diagnostic criteria used to diagnose compulsive hoarding.
2. Treatment Explores the goals of therapy along with changes in the thought processes.
3. Therapy The "baby steps" of reorganizing both homes and thoughts.
4. More Therapies Research into the multimodal approach to defeating compulsive hoarding.
5. Genetic Link Possible link between genetics and predicting risks.

Two famous hoarders were the Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley. They lived in Manhattan and collected newspapers, furniture, books, broken junk, and other miscellany, which were all booby-trapped to keep intruders out. In March 1947, neighbors complained of a stench emanating from their home. Investigation revealed that Homer had died, but Langley was nowhere to be found. They located him a couple of weeks after some of the 130 tons of junk were removed from the house. He died trying to get to his brother when one of the booby traps crushed him. While the Collyer brothers are an extreme example, prevalence is on the rise with an estimated 1.4 million Americans afflicted to varying degrees. Individualized therapies including the use of cognitive behavioral strategies, pharmaceuticals, alternative thinking processes, and constant monitoring for relapse have been found to be effective in the long term. Prognosis is excellent if the problem is discovered before it is too late.

1. The Collyer Brothers Explored Discussion of the Collyer brothers and media portrayal of hoarders.
2. Personal Experience One author's experience with her mother's hoarding.
3. Stories from People who Hoard Stories from recovering hoarders.

The advice on this website is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only. "Storage Tips" are offered as-is and no warranty is expressed or implied. For more information, see StorageFront's Terms and Conditions.