What is Hoarding and How to Identify It

By: Arlene Miles

Are hoarders simply messy people who have no regard for their personal environments? That's not the case, health professionals say. Hoarders are addicts.

“This is a process addiction,” said Moe Ross, in a March 2010 interview with Suite 101. Ross is co-director of Northwest Community Counseling Services in Crystal Lake, IL, a suburb northwest of Chicago.

“It’s a thinking disorder that’s in the same category as sexual addiction, gambling, video games, and shopping.

Five Levels of Hoarding

Almost everyone knows someone who hoards, noted Jane Carroo, a professional organizer and owner of Clutter Coach Co. in Palatine, IL.

“Most hoarders are of the garden variety, but they range all the way up to those who have barricaded entrances and exits and the home is dangerous to live in,” Carroo said..." More