Hoarding is strongly linked to anxiety, often serving as a coping mechanism for underlying anxiety disorders, depression, or traumatic events. While once considered a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), hoarding disorder is now classified as a distinct mental health condition characterized by severe distress and inability to discard items, often stemming from intense anxiety regarding losing possessions.
Some people develop hoarding disorder after experiencing a stressful life event that they had difficulty coping with, such as the death of a loved one, divorce or losing possessions in a fire.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common treatment for hoarding disorder. With the help of a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychologist, people learn to understand why they hoard and how to feel less anxiety when throwing away items. Specialists also teach organization and decision-making skills.
Hoarding Disorder affects people of all backgrounds. Symptoms often begin in the teenage years and can become more noticeable in adulthood. Individuals with anxiety, depression, or attention-related challenges may be at higher risk.
Signs of a hoarding disorder
Someone who has a hoarding disorder may typically: keep or collect items that may have little or no monetary value, such as junk mail and carrier bags, or items they intend to reuse or repair. find it hard to categorise or organise items. have difficulty making decisions.
People with hoarding disorder commonly live with other complex or psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Hoarding disorder is a recognized psychological condition where people feel compelled to keep items regardless of their actual value or usefulness. The thought of discarding things causes significant distress, leading to rapid accumulation and cluttered living spaces.
A few studies have supported an over representation of 'interpersonal' traumatic or SLEs, such as sexual and physical violence, among individuals with hoarding (e.g. Tolin et al., 2010).
The 15-Minute Rule for OCD is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) technique where you delay performing a compulsion for 15 minutes when an obsessive thought triggers anxiety, allowing the urge to lessen naturally as you practice exposure and response prevention (ERP). It teaches your brain that discomfort decreases without the ritual, building resilience and breaking the obsessive-compulsive cycle by gradually increasing tolerance for uncertainty and distressing feelings.
In fact, if it's done without their consent, discarding the hoarder's possessions usually does more harm than good. The hoarder will likely be angry and resentful—damaging the relationship between you—and their process of accumulation will simply begin all over again.
Decluttering and Organizing
Start the cleaning process by removing obvious trash and clutter, beginning with the room closest to the exit and working your way through the home. A top-to-bottom approach ensures that the hazardous areas are cleared first, improving safety as you go.
If the 5x5 method is as new to you as it was to me, allow me to explain. Coined by Steph of The Secret Slob, this technique requires nothing but a timer and twenty-five free minutes. Pick five rooms or zones and dedicate five minutes per area. In twenty-five minutes, Steph promises a cleaner, less cluttered home.
If these possessions or animals are taken away, people will often react with frustration and anger. They may quickly collect more to help satisfy emotional needs. The main treatment for hoarding disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a skills-based approach to therapy.
Yes, hoarding can be treated. Unfortunately, it has not responded well to the usual treatments that work for OCD. Some strategies used to treat hoarding include: Challenging the hoarder's thoughts and beliefs about the need to keep items and about collecting new things.
12 Tips to Overcome Hoarding
Neurocognitive Functioning
Deficits in decision making may increase the distress felt by hoarding patients when forced to choose whether to keep or discard an object. Hoarding may also be linked to inattentiveness and a lack of inhibition [14].
The great toll untreated OCD takes
Living in a constant state of anxiety is not healthy. It is not uncommon for people with OCD to suffer from other mental health problems, like depression, as a result of their OCD symptoms. People with OCD may isolate themselves, and prefer to be alone.
Common types of compulsive behaviour in people with OCD include:
It essentially requires you to identify three things you can see, three things you can hear, and three ways you can move your body. “It's basically a way of distracting yourself from your anxiety by shifting your attention to your senses,” says Aimee Daramus, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at Clarity Clinic, Chicago.
Hoarding is more common in older age groups than younger age groups. Below are some early signs that an individual may have hoarding behaviors. These behaviors are typically mild and progress over years. They may develop into a severe problem in adults around their 50s.
The constant building of clutter in the house of hoarders makes it impossible for family members to live a healthy life. It can have appalling effects on their mental health and can lead to severe depression and suicidal ideation.
Compulsive or problematic hoarding behaviors occur in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, and dementia.
Mental Health Issues That Can Cause Someone to Not Clean Their House. Having a messy home might be the result of a lot of factors. If you don't clean your house, it might mean you are busy and have little time to clean and organize. It might be a sign that you have too much stuff.
home, the 1% rule involves doing just one small thing to make your home better. The habit definitely leads to a more tidy home, but, more importantly, it also creates a more peaceful emotional state.