Compulsive Hoarding – 9 Things You Must Know

Compulsive hoarding is also referred to in clinical studies as pathological hoarding. The disorder has to do with being compelled to collect things or failing to get rid of unreasonable numbers of certain objects. Even when storage becomes a problem and interferes with simple living activities (like walking around or even sleeping), compulsive hoarding tendencies leave the sufferer with the inability to fix the problem.

1. Although there's no exact definition of this disorder, there are accepted criteria for diagnosing compulsive hoarding, such as:

• Acquisition/failure to discard huge amount of possessions, which seem to be of limited or negligible value, or totally useless
• Cluttered living spaces that stop/hinder activities for which they were intended or designed
• Distress or impaired functioning due to hoarding
  
  

2. Compulsive hoarding has been known to overlap with obsessive compulsive disorder, obsessive compulsive personality disorder, and impulse control disorder. But there are indeed people who are compulsive hoarders without showing other symptoms that can be diagnosed as any of the above disorders. More studies are needed to determine whether compulsive hoarding is a symptom or a completely separate condition.
   
   
3. When associated with impulse control disorder, compulsive hoarding often manifests itself in compulsive acquisition or buying.
   
   
4. One pointer of compulsive hoarding are cluttered living conditions, although this isn't the sole indicator. Other symptoms are feelings of distress that cause the sufferer to continue amassing stuff even when it seriously affects their ability to live normally.
   
   
5. Compulsive hoarding sometimes compels the sufferer to continue amassing possessions — even when it takes up 50% to 70% or more of the sufferer's living space.
   
   
6. When some or most of the rooms in a home can no longer be used for their intended purposes due to amassed stuff, this is likely a sign that a person living there is a compulsive hoarder.
   
   
7. Another indicator of compulsive hoarding is when doors or entry points from the outside world are blocked. Chairs and tables may be covered with papers, books, receipts, bills, newspapers, etc. leaving inhabitants with no where to sit or lay things.
   
   
8. Compulsive hoarding of garbage, called syllogomania, may not be the only symptom of this condition. Hoarding may also include food or knick-knacks.
   
   
9. In the case of food, say in a fridge, the person's natural safety instinct should kick in and compel him/her to throw some of it away. The condition draws closer to a disorder when the person can't bring himself/herself to do this.