Hoarding

Alexandra Matthews, Ph.D.

What is Hoarding?

According to Frost and Hartl (1996) Compulsive Hoarding Syndrome consists of:

1. The acquisition of, and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value
2. Living spaces are sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed.
3. Significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

Three Basic Components of Hoarding:

Acquisition: Compulsive buying, acquiring free things.
Saving: Inability to discard anything.
Clutter: Clutter is the end result of acquisition and saving. It is a symptom of the disorder. Clutter is not the problem, so simply cleaning out the clutter/hoard will not solve the problem.

Hoarding can pose a health risk to the hoarder. It can also pose a public health risk due to infestation (rats, roaches), and a risk to public employees who sometimes must enter the home to help the resident.

Any item can be hoarded. Some of the most commonly hoarded items are animals, reading materials (books, newspapers, magazines), clothing, containers (bags, boxes, milk cartons, bottles, cans, etc.), mail, notes and lists, personal papers (old school papers, writing samples, etc.)

Hoarding is a brain disorder. Hoarding is genetic. It is not simply a bad habit that can be easily overcome.

Compulsive hoarding is most commonly associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). 18-42% of all OCD patients have hoarding and saving compulsions. However, 33% or hoarders do not have OCD.

Other mental disorders often co-occur with Compulsive Hoarding. Some of the most common are: Social Anxiety; Anxiety; Depression; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Impulse Control Disorders (compulsive shopping, gambling, etc.) stroke, neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer’s, etc.); eating disorders; Autistic Spectrum Disorders; mental retardation; schizophrenia; Tourette’s; compulsive hair pulling...." More

The clean sweep

Posted By JOANNE RICHARD

Hoarding horrors abound. Some hoard human waste -- yes, feces! Others amass newspapers, food, junk, mementos and/or valuable items. Some hoard animals; others money.

Things provide comfort -- no matter the discomfort and chaos the collecting causes. The overwhelming need to acquire gets out of control, to the point of even endangering lives.

"The amount of stuff is like a weight on them physically and mentally -- houses are so overfilled that they lose all freedom, they become disengaged in life," says Ottawa-based hoarding specialist Elaine Birchall.

Hoarders waste away in all the waste, possessions, accumulation -- "yet they don't see it, it's their normal."

Birchall recalls "a case where 112 animals lived in a 25 by 20 foot trailer with a hoarder." Human and animal suffering was evident. "The non-caged animals 'owned' her bed which was in the living room because all of the other spaces were lined with animal cages."

Although totally devoted to her pets, "the mental and physical needs of the animals were not being met. Her ability to maintain control of the situation was perilous mentally, physically and financially," adds Birchall, of hoarding.ca.

Overwhelming clutter makes for chaotic living conditions for compulsive collectors, impairing daily activity, physical and mental health, relationships and living conditions...." More

Cat Hoarding

Introduction

There are countless cases of animal hoarding. There is one today in the Wyoming News. A 60 year old man living in south Cheyenne (map marks the spot) admitted he could no longer cope. There were about 50 cats; 32 were removed. His house was unbearable (toxic to humans) for the animal control officers. One room was habitable (of sorts) for humans, the remainder of the house was a total mess. The cats were stressed and so was the man. So, what happened?

The interesting part of animal hoarding is the science and psychology behind it. At the beginning a cat hoarder is simply a cat keeper. Perhaps he or she has a couple of cats or a little more - no big deal. Then gradually, or quickly, the numbers grow. There comes a time when it gets out of hand and ACOs (Animal Control Officers in the USA) come it. There is a moment when the line is crossed from manageable to chaotic but the person does nothing. Why?

There would appear to be more than one type of person who is prone to cat hoarding. But despite claiming to love or at least like cats they are unable to recognise that they are hurting them by housing them in unsanitary conditions. They are also unable to recognise that the situation is hurting themselves or at least they don't care.

It is said that the underlying problem is that a animal hoarder is not doing it for the animal but for themselves. This is what Dr. Patrone says. The irrationality of it indicates that this is the case because it takes little awareness or intelligence to recognise when the conditions for the cats is detrimental to them..." More

Recognizing the signs of hoarding

By Nancy Carol

The Mayo Clinic says "People who hoard often don't see it as a problem, making treatment challenging."

Webster's Dictionary defines the word "hoarding" as a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away. That sounds thrifty, doesn't it? But some people go way beyond being thrifty, becoming obsessed with keeping so much that it eventually takes over their lives and their homes. People hoard various and sometimes bizarre things including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, empty boxes, cracked dishes, garbage, human waste and sometimes cats and dogs or other pets.

The well-respected Mayo Clinic says treatment of hoarders is challenging because "those who hoard often don't see it as a problem." If you suspect someone you know is a hoarder, here are some of the symptoms to watch for..." More

Inside Phillip Garrido’s house: Pictures show squalor where kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard spent 18 years

Pictures released today showing inside the Californian home of Phillip and Nancy Garrido reveal the squalor in which kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard had to live for 18 years.

The snaps were taken by building inspectors after they were sent in by local police to search the Garrido's property in Antioch.

They show clutter everywhere, with dirty dishes stacked high in the kitchen's sink, and huge piles of clothes and laundry dumped throughout the house..." More

Field Guide to The Pack Rat: Closet Cases

Hard times can awaken the hoarder within. Your trash is my treasure. 

Psychology Today Magazine By: Elizabeth Svoboda

For more than 30 years, Ange Aguirre rarely got rid of anything. From elementary school on, she squirreled away her possessions in boxes and corners, and when she married at 19, she took it all with her—from the third-grade math work sheets to the letter jacket to the teddy bear she'd been given the day she was born. "I was on my high school drill team, and I had every gift that was ever given to me during a football game," says Aguirre, now 39 and living near San Diego. "I had notes people had written to me when I was in the seventh grade."

Like layers of sediment, Aguirre's belongings piled higher and higher over time, teetering in unwieldy stacks and choking off access to closet shelves. But it wasn't until she and her husband were preparing to move across the country to California that she admitted her tendency to hoard was affecting her life. "We have eight children, and things were getting crowded with their toys and belongings," she says. "I had to do something about it." But when she resolved to tackle the mountain of stuff, her attachment to cherished items got in the way of her judgment, making it almost physically painful to trash them. "They were something to hold on to when the days got tough, to bring me back to a good time in my life."...  More