By Kelly Corkery
I approach this topic with extreme sensitivity and caution, there is a lot of misinformation and lack of understanding regarding hoarding. Reality shows, such as A&E’s Hoarders, don’t necessarily represent the healthiest methods for handling a complex mental disorder.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Hoarding Disorder is a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. This difficulty is due to a perceived need to save the items and to the distress associated with discarding them. Attempts to part with possessions creates considerable emotional, mental, and even physical discomfort that may lead to decisions to save them. The resulting clutter disrupts the ability to use living spaces and may cause dangerous situations to health and safety.
Frequently, individuals who hoard may call themselves “thrifty” or “collectors”. They may also believe that their behaviour is due to having lived through a period of poverty or hardship at some point during their lives. Research does not support this idea. However, experiencing a traumatic event or serious loss, such as the death of a loved one, may lead to a gradual or significant worsening of hoarding behaviour.
Hoarding is different from collecting. In hoarding, people seldom display their possessions intentionally; they are usually kept in disarray. In collecting, people typically display their collections proudly and keep them well organized and maintained. Collectors can buy or sell; they are selective with their purchase decisions. Hoarders feel compelled to buy or save and fail to discard objects without extreme difficulty.
Most often, people hoard common possessions such as papers (mail, newspapers), books, clothing, shoes, and containers (boxes, bags). Some people hoard garbage or rotten food. In extreme cases, people hoard animals or human waste products.
Signs of hoarding may include:
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Difficulty getting rid of items.
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Large amounts of clutter accumulated at home, in the car, in the office or other spaces like storage units that makes it challenging to use furniture or appliances or to move around easily.
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Losing important items like money or paperwork.
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Feeling overwhelmed and overtaken by the volume of possessions.
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Being unable to stop taking free items.
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Buying things because they are a bargain or to stock up.
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Socially isolating and not inviting friends/family into living space due to shame or embarrassment. Refusing to let people into the home to make repairs.
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Difficulty organizing possessions due to volume.
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Unusually strong positive feelings like joy or delight when acquiring new items.
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Equally strong negative feelings like guilt, fear and anger when considering getting rid of objects.
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Feeling responsible for objects
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Denial of a problem even when the clutter or compulsion to acquire is clearly interfering with their life.
Let me be clear. People don’t hoard because they are lazy. Hoarding is an illness that cannot be solved by simply cleaning out the space if the underlying problem has not been addressed. From personal experience, you can spend many hours with considerable financial investment to clear a home only to discover that the problem recurs. Hoarders whose homes are cleared without consent experience extreme anxiety and become more determined to hold onto their possessions. This approach often leads to their refusal for future help.
Hoarding is challenging to treat. Until the individual is internally motivated to change, offers of help may be in vain. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is considered the main treatment for hoarding disorder; it focuses on learning how to better manage beliefs and behaviours that are linked to keeping the clutter. Working with hoarders requires patience, encouragement, and trust.
