Compulsive Hoarding
The Pathology of a Cluttered Home
The causes of compulsive hoarding are unknown. A
hoarding disorder is mental condition where getting rid of clutter
causes overwhelming anxiety.
Obsessive hoarding is now being recognized
as a mental illness.
Up until quite recently it has been difficult to study the population that live in extremely cluttered homes because they remained socially
isolated and hidden. People who suffer with a hoarding disorder are often too
ashamed to seek help. They isolate themselves from social contact in order to avoid the
possibility that others will judge their character
by the state of their environment. All the while their obsession and their cluttered homes continue to get stuffed with
more clutter.
Hoarding can become so severe that the structural integrity of the home or apartment is compromised
from the excessive weight of accumulated items. Documented cases of extreme hoarding disorder show that
not only do hoarders place themselves in danger but they can also place their neighbors in danger as well.
Some documented cases of the dangers caused by compulsive hoarding include:
Estimates are that about 1.4 million people in the USA suffer from a hoarding disorder.
- delayed emergency medical attention when first responders cannot access or remove a victim from a cluttered environment
in a timely fashion.
- health hazards related to the rodent and
cockroach population or the
overgrowth of mould.
- inability to control a fire because of the fuel provided in the hoarded paper items.
There are even documented cases of people being killed by their own clutter,
literally crushed to death by the weight of the pile of clutter that fell on top of them.
What is a Compulsive Hoarding Disorder?
This disorder is characterized by:
- the continual acquisition of material goods that appear to be useless or of limited value coupled with the
inability to discard any of these possessions.
- cluttered living spaces that prevent the space from being used for its normal activities.
- significant impairment in the ability to live a normal live as a result of the compulsive hoarding.
Hoarding can involve any and all types of objects, but people do not engage
in hoarding behaviour merely because they are collectors.
There is an emotional and mental connection that drives the compulsion to accumulate more and more objects.
It is not the type of object or the amount of it that denotes compulsive hoarding it is the compulsion itself.
The hoarder feels compelled to accumulate objects. Even though this constant accumulation has no logic and results in
many negative consequences, the hoarder may feel powerless to stop it and may actually become obsessed with
getting more stuff.
There is no logical reason for hoarding behaviour. It is almost certainly a sign of a mental
illness or at the very least an indication that there is altered brain function.
Medical diagnoses associated with compulsive hoarding behaviour include:
It has been postulated that the brain of the hoarder does not function in a way that allows accurate
perception of the mess they are creating or at least they do not become distressed about it.
In fact a cluttered home appears to create some sort of security and getting rid of
clutter creates feelings of anxiety, distress, and even fear.
Trying to part with their accumulated stuff can evoke
painful and dramatic emotional reactions. This emotional state is so unpleasant that the hoarder will devote energy to keeping these items
rather than dealing with the intensity of emotions that arise from getting rid of them.
What is the difference between a clutterer and a compulsive hoarder?
There almost certainly is a difference between cluttering and hoarding although it is hard to find definitive answers to this question.
But here is my best attempt to explain the difference as I understand it.
A clutterer accumulates things almost unintentionally because they:
They almost always have difficulty
getting rid of clutter
because of emotional attachments, rationalizations, or excuses about why an object should be kept and why their cluttered home got that way.
A hoarding disorder is much different. Compulsive hoarding arises from the compulsion to accumulate
more and more things in the immediate living environment. It is not accidental or logical but it is intentional.
Every accumulated item is kept almost as a self protective mechanism in order to avoid the overwhelming and intense
emotions that arise when faced with getting rid of clutter.
Like any mental illness or psychiatric disorder there is nothing about hoarding that is logical or makes sense and it cannot be cured simply by
"cleaning up the place". As shown in this video that documents a case of obsessive compulsive hoarding behaviour,
cleaning up the environment may cause the hoarder to feel extremely violated by well intended actions.
The disordered environment is the result of
disordered thinking, not laziness or untidyness.
Without treatment for the underlying brain chemistry and false beliefs at the root of the compulsive behaviour,
a person with a hoarding disorder who is placed into a neat and tidy environment will likely go on to create another cluttered space.
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