Hoarding: What Hoarding Is and Getting Help for the Hoarder in Your Life
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But if you or a loved one has a home that is so cluttered that it affects your life and your health, then the culprit might be an obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder known as hoarding. Here are nine signs to help you identify this form of OCD.
When it comes to a compulsive hoarder, however, you'll know that something is truly wrong. Eventually, only pathways exist throughout the home to get from room to room, a chair, or a bed. No Organization to the Clutter Some pack rats have a lot of stuff, but they know where everything is.
Could You Be a Compulsive Hoarder?
That's not the case with the OCD condition known as hoarding. The Hoarded Items Hold No Value With compulsive hoarders, not only will you find a lot of stuff, but a good deal of that stuff will be useless.
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Or you keep broken appliances and other things that you think you will get around to fixing some day. You Have a Lot of Pets In some cases, the obsessive-compulsive component of hoarding leads to having too many pets , which further contributes to the mess of the home. Your Home Is Becoming Unsanitary Add it all together, and there's no question that hoarders live in homes that are dirty at best and unsanitary at worst. It almost always adversely affects the health of the people living there.
Increased Social Isolation When this obsessive-compulsive disorder evolves to the point of embarrassment, the hoarder will typically turn away from friends and family in order to hide the problem. Combative or Defensive When Confronted When a loved one does finally attempt to help the person with compulsive hoarding, the results are generally not good, adds Osborn. Unwillingness To Give Up Items Attempts to physically remove some of the items from the home will be met by additional resistance and anger from the person with this OCD condition. People with hoarding disorder may not see it as a problem, making treatment challenging.
But intensive treatment can help people with hoarding disorder understand how their beliefs and behaviors can be changed so that they can live safer, more enjoyable lives.
You might think you're having a heart attack, but it could very well be a panic attack. Well, there you go! Yes, there are exceptions, but most never get hold of this destructive, dangerous disease. It's not clear what causes hoarding disorder. One of several psychological disorders associated with books such as bibliophagy or bibliokleptomania , bibliomania is characterized by the collecting of books which have no use to the collector nor any great intrinsic value to a more conventional book collector.
Getting and saving an excessive number of items, gradual buildup of clutter in living spaces and difficulty discarding things are usually the first signs and symptoms of hoarding disorder, which often surfaces during the teenage to early adult years. As the person grows older, he or she typically starts acquiring things for which there is no immediate need or space. By middle age, symptoms are often severe and may be harder to treat. Problems with hoarding gradually develop over time and tend to be a private behavior.
Often, significant clutter has developed by the time it reaches the attention of others.
Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and to make a plan for both how you are going to approach the hoarder, and to get the. It's really important to encourage a person who is hoarding to seek help, as their the person's life, making it very difficult for them to get around their house.
Hoarding disorder is different from collecting. People who have collections, such as stamps or model cars, deliberately search out specific items, categorize them and carefully display their collections. Although collections can be large, they aren't usually cluttered and they don't cause the distress and impairments that are part of hoarding disorder.
Compulsive hoarding
People who hoard animals may collect dozens or even hundreds of pets. Animals may be confined inside or outside. Because of the large numbers, these animals often aren't cared for properly. The health and safety of the person and the animals are at risk because of unsanitary conditions. If you or a loved one has symptoms of hoarding disorder, talk with a doctor or mental health professional as soon as possible. Some communities have agencies that help with hoarding problems.
Check with the local or county government for resources in your area. As hard as it might be, if your loved one's hoarding disorder threatens health or safety, you may need to contact local authorities, such as police, fire, public health, child or elder protective services, or animal welfare agencies. It's not clear what causes hoarding disorder.
Genetics, brain functioning and stressful life events are being studied as possible causes. Hoarding usually starts around ages 11 to 15, and it tends to get worse with age. Hoarding is more common in older adults than in younger adults.
What's the difference between hoarding and collecting?
Because little is understood about what causes hoarding disorder, there's no known way to prevent it. However, as with many mental health conditions, getting treatment at the first sign of a problem may help prevent hoarding from getting worse. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.
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This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Hoarding disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic.