Hoarding Disorder - It’s More than Messy

Hoarding used to be a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder. A person would have persistent thoughts of collecting or acquiring things, or rituals of holding on to items.

But research using functional brain imaging has shown that different areas of the brain are affected with hoarding than with OCD. So with the 2013, 5th edition of the diagnostic manual, hoarding and OCD were pulled out of the anxiety disorder section and hoarding became it’s own disorder under the compulsive disorders section of the manual along with OCD, hair pulling, skin picking and body dysmorphia.

Other conditions associated with hoarding are being indecisive,
Perfectionism
Procrastination
And trouble planning and organizing tasks

Animal hoarding is an unofficial subtype of hoarding where you accumulate a large number of animals but fail to provide minimum standards of nutrition and sanitation for the animals.

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Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

[DrTraceyMarks]

SORRY ABOUT THE AUDIO CHANGES - I see now that I can't lean forward and talk. 😊

[tidalboxer]

My “collecting” has always been high. I grew up a little on the poor side and always was the last (if at all) to get the newest cool toy or shoes or clothes. I grew up feeling very second best because of it and always felt left out. I also grew up in the country and didn’t have any friends nearby, so I learned to fill my time and emotions with what little physical things I DID have.

From childhood to an adult, I always had a pretty good handle on my collecting. I had a lot of stuff, but it was always organized and fairly clean.


I stopped collecting most things in my 30s because I wanted to behave and look like more of a responsible adult. I wasn’t really happy not being able to collect or enjoy things. I was depressed some too. I missed having stuff.

Then my 40s and the pandemic hit. I started to collect to curb anxiety about my age and the dangerous disease. I had major depression from the pandemic and the state of our world. I also started to realize more and more I’ve always had ADHD and a lack of dopamine. So the collecting filled my dopamine needs too. But I’ve let things pile up. I’ve collected way too many things. I try to collect everything because all kinds of things bring me joy. It’s just too much. I can’t collect everything and have every hobby. It only interests me for a while, then I move on to the next so I can get the dopamine high again.

I’ve started medications for depression and anxiety, and I have a stimulant gif ADHD I haven’t started yet. The depression is lessening, but I still have the need for the dopamine of collecting things. I need to get rid of things so I can enjoy the few things more I love rather than it all just piling up on me. I have to pick favorites and that’s hard. I hope I can learn how to cope again and weed needless things out.

[cynzix]

I was poor for a big part of my life, so now I'm a bit of a hoarder because I learned to save anything I could for the worse times to come, and even though I'm financially pretty stable now, I struggle to change that scarcity mindset.

[trudyfox]

I notice a common theme with hoarders. They all suffered a significant loss that they never dealt with. They project their feelings on the items. Clutter insulates them from an unsafe world. They avoid facing their inner pain. They justify their behaviour in their mind.

[BeingBetter]

My dad is a hoarder and it had a big impact on me growing up. We never had friends over when we were kids.

[widersetzen]

I have a friend who has become a hoarder, and it seems to have gotten very extreme. Her entire apartment is filled with stuff—it's not untidy, just packed with things, mostly clothes. She seems to collect items she finds outside, including clothes and other things like speakers. I suggested she sell some of it, especially the clothes, since she has far more than she could ever wear. But she wasn't very open to the idea and came up with excuses for why she can't sell them. I also suggested moving a lot of the stuff to the cellar, but her partner told me that the cellar is already full. Now I'm watching videos online to learn how I can help her. She used to be different, a normal person with a normal apartment. I hope I can somehow help her return to how things were in the past.

[sarawilkinson]

My dad was a hoarder, and basically died as a result of it. When we had to sort out his hoard, it was so overwhelming. It made me so sad and angry that he lived like that, but at the same time I tried to empathise. It was hard to do. Thank you for the video

[redwoods]

I'm a college teacher. Books and papers and publications and teaching materials. I have to be really strict with myself and keep moving them along out of my house as I read them. Books included. They get donated to the library on a regular basis. It's a struggle, but I'm good at it now. I used to have boxes of them that took up a whole room in my house. No more! That room is now a lovely home office and perfectly neat. No piles anywhere anymore. You can do it!

[MrBawawawa]

Listening closely to the " how to treat it". I'm only in my twenties and I'm leaving my parents home. I can't walk in it from one angle to the other. That's when I understood there was a problem.

[pattycannon]

My mother used to be a huge hoarder we had an intervention with her and as time passed she decluttered her home.

[intentionallyqueen.]

I believe a traumatic event can trigger hoarding. My grandmother started hoarding at 55 when my aunt ( her daughter) brutally murdered, before that she had a home that was featured in Home and Garden. When she died, there was only a pathway to the kitchen.

[michellegosse]

My problem has been that when a loved one dies, I have problems getting rid of their stuff. It's like getting rid of it is getting rid of them all over again. :( It has taken me YEARS to get through this emotionally.

[rebeccajones]

Thank you for talking about this in a respectful way.

[Grief_Weasel]

One time I was at my mother's Hoarding home and went to the kitchen looking for a bottle opener and inside a drawer were over 200 Gatorade caps. I threw them all away and later when she found out they were gone she got upset and when I asked her why she was saving them she said " I lose my Gatorade cap sometimes while I am drinking, and I can just go get a new one from the drawer. She actually has more of an emotional relationship with material things than her own family.

[annmarieknapp]

My mother passed nearly 6 years ago. I hold onto everything that was hers because it is all I have left. When anything that was hers breaks or is damaged it really hurts me. It's like her things are so important to me. I can't let them go. It's like letting her go and I'm not ready or willing to do that. My guest room is a shrine for her. I have abandonment issues. Have no siblings and Dad lives over 1000 miles away. I love him so much, but can't make him move here. I feel like I've lost almost everything important in my life. Grieving is a monster. As my family shrinks and I get older it becomes so much harder.

[roscassol]

Top mental health content in YouTube. We are all so thankful, Dr. Marks.

[allthingsservethebeam]

I'm a hoarder that's been ready to clear out everything for a few years. I've unfortunately been too sick with autoimmune diseases to fulfill my goals. It's frustrating to be ready, but not have the energy or physical abilities to accomplish what you know will be a huge improvement for mental health. But luckily I've found a new appreciation for life and all that it entails and I'm determined to get it done. 😊

[justicejoycetv]

Thank you for this. *I know I have hoarding tendencies due to scarcity fears and then emotional attachments.*

[JustDr.S]

I think many hoarders become this way in their so called 'golden years.' Getting older, aches and pains set in, no longer working, no longer able to drive. Many older people become lonely, don't or can't see their children often enough. Have no support system. So, they let themselves go, let the house go, become depressed, and a hoarder is born out of sadness and loneliness. We need to talk about depression in older/elderly people. We need to take better care of the senior citizens in our lives. I know my grandmother was so lonely and depressed when my grandfather passed. This is common. Why doesn't anyone talk about the elderly and depression? It's as if they don't exist, or are invisible, once they hit their 60's. They matter. They should be treasured.

[robinenochs]

You are so incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to create this content.