It’s fairly easy to determine if you, or someone you love, is suffering from, or on the path to a hoarding disorder. Learn how experts define hoarding behavior…
I am visiting my friend Joe, who keeps telling me he is a hoarder. I notice his antique camera collection, a dozen or so displayed thoughtfully on a high shelf. Um, no Joe, not hoarding. In his tidy and orderly home, he shows me his great grandmother’s china collection behind a glass door that only gets used on special family occasions, and says “I know, I’m a hoarder.” Not so, Joe. He explained how the beautiful talble in his dining room was made out of antique walnut wood that he and our mutual college friend saved from a home remodel they worked on together back in Cleveland, Ohio. “I dragged it all the way here to Colorado!” Hoarding, right? he wondered, almost hopefullly. No, Joe, no go.
I hear the term bandied about a lot these days, but a hoarding diagnosis is quite a bit more serious than mere clutter or collecting. In a 2013 study by J. M. Sampson and S.M. Harris, presented to us at the Institute for Challenging Disorganization 2013 Conference, the Doctor’s cite that hoarding behavior is defined through three criteria:
(a) The acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions. (referred to as ‘pathological collecting’)
(b) Clutter that precludes activities for which living spaces were defined
(c) Significant distress and impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding
So Joe’s reasonably sized collection, re-creations of old things and his well functioning home is not a hoarding household. However, if you recognize these patterns in you or someone you love, it is important to seek support before it progresses further. The disorder “has been found to cause large amounts of distress and impairment for individuals who hoard and their family members.”
To get help and support, here are some great resources:
- Clutter Recovery Groups – www.clutterless.org
- Messies Anonymous – www.messies.com
- Buried In Treasures Workshops – www.buriedintreasure.com
- National Association of Professional Organizers – www.NAPO.net
- Institute for Challenging Disorganization – www.challengingdisorganiztion.org
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America – www.adaa.org
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies – www.abct.org
- Obsessive Compulsive Foundation – www.ocfoundation.org
Or just call me!