Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding) is a term which is used to describe extreme hoarding behaviour in humans. It involves the collection or failure to discard large numbers of objects even when their storage causes significant clutter and impairment to basic living activities such as moving around the house, cooking, cleaning or sleeping. Hoarding rubbish may be referred to as syllogomania. A slang term for a compulsive hoarder is pack rat or packrat. Hoarding is the storing of food or other goods. ... // The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. ... Waste inside a wheelie bin Waste in a bin bag Waste, rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk is unwanted or undesired material. ... Look up storage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food. ... Cleanliness is the absence of dirt, including dust, stains and a bad smell. ... Sleep is the state of natural rest observed in humans and throughout the animal kingdom, in all mammals and birds, and in many reptiles, amphibians, and fish. ...

While there is no definition of compulsive hoarding in accepted diagnostic criteria (such as the current DSM), Frost and Hartl (1996) provide the following defining features:^[1] The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorder and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the publishing organization the American Psychiatric Association. ...

• the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value
• living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed
• significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

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Case study

The following (edited) case study is taken from a published account of compulsive hoarding:^[2]

The client, D, lived with her two children, aged 11 and 14, and described her current hoarding behaviour as a 'small problem that mushroomed' many years ago, along with corresponding marital difficulties. D reported that her father was a hoarder and that she started saving when she was a child. In addition to hoarding, she reported several other obsessive-compulsive symptoms, such as fear of hurting others due to carelessness, an over-concern with dirt and germs, a need for symmetry and a need to know or remember things. D also suffered from a handwashing compulsion and engaged in lengthy cleaning rituals of household items. The volume of cluttered possessions took up approximately 70 percent of the living space in her house. With the exception of the bathroom, none of the rooms in the house could easily be used for their intended purpose. Both of the doors to the outside were blocked, so entry to the house was through the garage and the kitchen, where the table and chairs were covered with papers, newspapers, bills, books, half-consumed bags of chips and her children's school papers dating back ten years.

Related conditions

It is not clear whether compulsive hoarding is a condition in itself, or simply a symptom of other related conditions.^[3] Several studies have reported a correlation between hoarding and the presence and / or severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Hoarding behaviour is also related to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). There may be an overlap with a condition known as impulse control disorder (ICD), particularly when compulsive hoarding is linked to compulsive buying or acquisition behaviour. However, some people displaying compulsive hoarding behaviour show no other signs of what is usually considered to be OCD, OCPD or ICD. For other uses of the acronym OCPD, see OCPD (disambiguation). ... Impulse-control disorder not elsewhere classified includes disorders which are not part of other classifications under the Diagnostic and statistical manual. ...

See also

• Animal hoarding
• Bibliomania
• Collecting
• Diogenes syndrome
• Hoarding
• Impulse control disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Collyer brothers, notable hoarders
• Edmund Trebus, notable hoarder
• Plyushkin, fictional Russian hoarder

It has been suggested that Digital Pack Rat be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Animal hoarding is a human behaviour that involves the keeping of higher than typical numbers of animals as pets without having the ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denying this inability [1]. Along with other compulsive hoarding behaviours, it is linked in the... Bibliomania is the obsessive purchase or collecting of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. ... // The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. ... Diogenes syndrome is a behavioral disorder characterized by extreme self-neglect. ... Hoarding is the storing of food or other goods. ... Impulse control disorder is a set of brain disorders including Intermittent Explosive Disorder (hot-headedness), Kleptomania (stealing), Pathological Gambling, Pyromania (fire-starting) and Trichotillomania (pulling ones hair out). ... Langley Collyer (1885–1947), circa 1942–43 Homer Lusk Collyer (November 6, 1881–March 21, 1947) and Langley Collyer (October 3, 1885–March 1947) were two United States brothers who became famous because of their reclusiveness, filth and compulsive hoarding. ... Edmund Trebus (1918-2002) Edmund Trebus (November 11, 1918–September 29, 2002) was a Polish émigré to Britain and compulsive hoarder, who came to fame when he was featured on a British television documentary called A Life of Grime. ... Plyushkin (Плю́шкин) was a character in the Nikolai Gogols novel Dead Souls. ... Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Compulsive hoarding. ...

References

External links

• Confronting compulsive hoarding - article from SF Apartment Magazine
• Hoarding Fact Sheet - from Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.
• What is Compulsive Hoarding? - from Oprah Winfrey show
• Squalor Survivors - online resource concerning squalor and hoarding
• Children of Hoarders - online support group and information clearinghouse for children of compulsive hoarders
• Video of Hoarder's house - video example of how bad hoarding can get
• "The Psychology of Hoarding" - article from Discover magazine
• University of Minnesota Impulse Control Disorders Clinic Provides useful information and resources for patients and their families, including free questionnaire-based rating scales that patients can use to assess and track the severity of their condition.