Hoarding
What is the difference between collecting and hoarding?
A passion for collecting is a healthy outlet and an activity that keeps people connected to the world around them. But it can become a deadly enterprise when it crosses the line into hoarding.
There is a misconception about the difference between collecting and hoarding is the idea that collectors save things of value and hoarders save trash, which isn’t always true. While people with hoarding problems often save things others would consider trash, they save useful or valuable things in excess as well. Many people with hoarding problems have homes filled with recently purchased items that have never been opened or have the price tags still attached.
For the person whose collecting has become hoarding, possessions become unorganized piles of clutter that are so large they prevent rooms from being used for normal activities. When collecting becomes hoarding, motivation to display items is lost, and people become fearful of others seeing, touching or even commenting on their belongings. Yet the drive to add more to the collection still leads them to acquire things that only end up in the pile, and once in the pile, objects are seldom looked at again.
So what is Hoarding?
Hoarding, which is actually a disorder, is an ongoing difficulty throwing away or parting with possessions because individuals believe they need to save them for one reason or another. Individuals may experience distress at the thought of getting rid of the items. They gradually keep or gather a huge number of items, regardless of their actual value.
For many hoarders, hoarding often creates extremely cramped living conditions with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Countertops, sinks, stoves, desks, stairways, beds, tables and all other surfaces are usually piled with “stuff”. Individuals may not be able to use some areas for their intended purpose. For example, they may not be able to cook in their kitchen. When there's no more room inside their home, the clutter may spread to the garage, vehicles, yard and other storage areas.
Hoarding ranges from mild to severe. In some cases, hoarding may not have much impact on your life, while in other cases it seriously affects your daily functioning.
Individuals with hoarding disorder may not see it as a problem, so getting them to take part in getting rid of the items taking up space is difficult. Encouraging them to get treatment can be even more challenging. But intensive treatment can help an individual understand how their beliefs, values, and behaviors can be changed so that they can live a safer, more enjoyable life without clutter.The differences between hoarding, clutter and collecting.
HoardingSimply collecting or owning lots of things does not mean someone has hoarding disorder. A major feature of hoarding disorder is the disorganized nature of the clutter — as mentioned above, in most cases, the living spaces can no longer be used for everyday living as they were intended. Moving through the home is challenging, exits are blocked, and normal routines within the home are difficult.Thus, while it’s common for our homes to get messy and/or cluttered at times, this is not the same as having hoarding disorder. Similarly, being a collector of items does not mean a person has hoarding disorder. Some of the key differences between these terms are defined below:
ClutterClutter is defined as “a large group of usually unrelated or marginally related objects piled together in a disorganized fashion in spaces designed for other purposes (tabletops, floor, hallway).” While clutter is the most easily visible marker of hoarding disorder, a home can be cluttered for a wide variety of reasons. Hoarding disorder is only considered when the clutter results from excessive acquisition and difficulty getting rid of things.
The location of the clutter is also an important factor — it is common for most people to have cluttered storage areas, such as basements and attics. Instead, hoarding disorder involves clutter that takes over the living spaces of the home (kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, etc.) and keeps them from being usable for everyday living – cooking, eating, relaxing, sleeping, moving freely through the house, etc.
CollectingIn contrast to people with hoarding problems, collectors typically keep their possessions well-organized, and each item differs from other items to form interesting and often valuable groupings. Further, an important purpose of collecting is to display the items to others who appreciate them. People with hoarding disorder are seldom able to accomplish such goals.
Hoarding disorder is different from collecting in that collecting is organized and systematic, even though some collectors may have a similar amount of possessions as someone with hoarding disorder. Collecting does not produce the clutter, distress, or impairment that hoarding disorder does.
Dangers of hoardingAs the number of items filling your home grows, so too do the health hazards. Despite the mess, clutter, and disorganization, some people with hoarding disorder don’t always recognize a problem in their behavior. Rather, it may fall on friends or family members to point out the dangers and push for you to make a change. •Piles of possessions can block doors, hallways, and stairways making it harder to navigate your home, especially if you’re an older adult with arthritis or mobility issues. •The clutter can lead to an increased risk of falls or tripping. •Crowded and cluttered stoves and heaters can become a fire hazard, with blocked exits increasing the dangers. •As dust gathers, you may develop allergies or respiratory problems, such as COPD. •Hoarding can restrict your ability to maintain basic hygiene standards, even lead to bug and rodent infestations. Animal hoarding can make these hygiene problems even worse. •As the mess spreads outside your home, into the yard, garage, or patio, it can cause health problems for your neighbors and lead to conflict, eviction, or legal proceedings. •If you live with a partner, hoarding can splinter your relationship, even lead to separation or divorce. •Any children living in the home could be taken away by social services. •Cramped living conditions can make it difficult to carry out plumbing, heating, or other repairs to your home. •Shame about your living space can impact your social life, making it harder to invite friends or family to your home, and leave you feeling socially isolated.
Symptoms and causes of hoarding disorderWhile it’s much more common than you may have imagined, not all hoarding behavior merits a diagnosis of hoarding disorder. In fact, up to 25 percent of us exhibit some hoarding symptoms, with about two percent of adults actually meeting the diagnostic requirements of hoarding disorder.Hoarding disorder often runs in families and while it occurs most commonly in people over the age of 55, symptoms can surface in early adolescence.
You may have experienced great distress as a child when your parents took items away or curtailed your impulse to collect. It may have been that your parents or caregivers were never there for you to give or receive love, (emotional abandonment) so your need for material things was all you had to love and pretend they loved you back. The more more things you received the more love you thought you had in your life.
If you were a child who grew up in an abusive home where you were often the target of abuse, you had to put an emotional wall between you and the abuser. Detachment felt scary so you formed bonds with "things", much like the child who experienced emotional abandonment. Only when a child is being physically or sexually abused, they are also being emotionally abused. "Things" may have also helped you focus on something other than the chaos of abuse surrounding your life.
In other cases, hoarding disorder develops after a stressful life event such as divorce, the death of a loved one, or unemployment.
Many individuals with hoarding disorder value their possessions as part of themselves or part of their relationships with loved ones. Discarding them becomes emotionally painful, like ending a relationship or throwing away a part of your own identity.
Common symptoms of hoarding disorder include: •Having persistent difficulty discarding possessions, even those without any actual use or value, such as old newspapers, clothes, receipts, junk mail, food containers, broken nails, or plastic bags, for example. •Having a perceived need to save items and experiencing emotional pain or distress at having to discard them. •Attributing emotion to inanimate objects, having a strong sentimental attachment to possessions, or otherwise overestimating the importance of items. •Worrying about running out of specific things, such as household items, or believing that you’ll one day find a use for even junk objects. •Indecision and disorganization; not knowing what to keep or where to put things. •Accumulating possessions to the extent that your living areas become congested, made safe and habitable only by the intervention of family or friends. •Hoarding impacts your daily functioning at work, in your personal relationships, or in your health and well-being.
Many individuals with hoarding disorder also have other co-occurring issues, such as depression, an anxiety disorder, PTSD, ADHD, or most commonly, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In some cases, treating the underlying condition can help improve the symptoms of hoarding disorder.