How Serious is the Hoarding Problem?

How do I know when my saving is really a problem? As we indicated in Chapter 2, hoarding is a chronic condition that is likely to worsen over time if left untreated. This initially private mental health problem can rapidly become a significant...

Introduction

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association determined that hoarding disorder (HD) is a diagnosable mental health condition. This disorder has been studied only in the past three decades, although information about this surprisingly common problem has been accumulating at a great rate in recent years....

What Treatments Work Best for Hoarding and Acquiring?

The effects of medications and psychotherapy treatments have been studied in clinical settings for people with serious hoarding problems. This chapter describes the treatments that have been investigated and summarizes the findings from those studies with regard to the potential benefits for resolving hoarding symptoms....

Why do People Hoard?

In previous chapters we’ve described the criteria for hoarding disorder (HD) and detailed the features of acquiring, saving, and clutter. We also discussed the common features associated with hoarding symptoms and HD, including demographic characteristics, as well as the beliefs, emotions, and behaviors, including brain...

What is Hoarding and Hoarding Disorder?

How is hoarding defined? In a seminal article published in 1996, Drs. Randy Frost and Tamara Hartl described a syndrome they called “compulsive hoarding.” They identified three main elements of this condition: Excessive acquiring and failure to discard a large number of possessions, often...

What are the next Steps to Understand and Treat Hoarding?

What don’t we understand about hoarding disorder? As evident from our previous chapters, there are many aspects of hoarding problems and hoarding disorder (HD) that are not well understood at this time. This chapter discusses several of the main areas of uncertainty about this complex...

What is the Impact of Hoarding on Sufferers, Families, and Communities?

What kinds of problems does hoarding cause? Although hoarding leads to adverse effects that are apparent to others, the person with hoarding behavior is sometimes unable to recognize the problems caused by having a house too full of stuff. Even if they have insight into...

What are the Neurocognitive Features of Hoarding?

What do we know about brain patterns in hoarding? In this chapter, the word neurocognitive refers to two aspects of the brain—neurological functioning and how the brain processes information, both of which appear to be affected in people who hoard objects. Neurological functions...

How can Communities help with Hoarding?

Isn’t my home my castle? Throughout most of North America, housekeeping practices and the manner in which someone choses to keep their home are considered private matters. This is especially true when the person has rights of ownership to their dwelling. However, there are certain...

How can family Members and other Methods help with Hoarding?

In addition to the treatment methods described in Chapter 7, a few other methods may be helpful for family members and for those who suffer from hoarding symptoms. In considering alternative ways to resolve hoarding problems, it is important to distinguish clutter from...