Hoarding Disorder

Major Symptoms of Hoarding Disorder:

1. Difficulty Discarding Items: Extreme difficulty or distress when trying to discard possessions, regardless of their actual value.

2. Cluttered Living Spaces: Accumulation of possessions that congest and clutter living areas, making them unusable (e.g., a kitchen filled with items so that cooking becomes impossible).

3. Excessive Acquisition: Persistent acquisition of items, even if they are not needed or lack space to store them.

4. Impairment: Significant distress or difficulty functioning in daily life due to hoarding, affecting relationships, work, or safety.

5. Emotional Attachment to Possessions: Strong emotional attachment to items, often viewing them as extensions of self or associating them with memories or future usefulness.

Causes of Hoarding Disorder:

1. Biological: Abnormal activity in brain regions involved in decision-making and emotional regulation (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex, insula).

2. Genetic: Family history of hoarding or related conditions.

3. Trauma or Loss: Hoarding often emerges after a significant loss or traumatic event, such as the death of a loved one.

4. Psychological: Perfectionism, difficulty making decisions, or avoidance behaviors.

5. Environmental: Growing up in a household where hoarding was present or scarcity was experienced.

Short Story: Struggling with Hoarding Disorder

Margaret, a 57-year-old retired teacher, lives in a house that feels more like a maze. Every room is filled with boxes, books, and clothes. The living room, once a cozy space for family gatherings, is now an impassable sea of stacks of newspapers and old magazines.

Margaret insists that everything has a purpose. "What if I need this someday?" she tells herself, holding a broken toaster she hasn’t used in years. Throwing it away feels unbearable, as if she’s losing a part of herself. She spends hours shifting piles from one corner to another, unable to decide what to keep and what to let go.

Her adult children avoid visiting, frustrated and worried about her living conditions. Margaret feels isolated, but the thought of anyone touching her things fills her with panic. One day, her neighbor calls the fire department after noticing smoke coming from Margaret’s chimney. It turns out a stack of papers had fallen onto a space heater. The incident shakes Margaret but doesn’t stop her from clinging to her possessions.

Margaret wants help but feels ashamed. The idea of strangers seeing her house makes her heart race. Deep down, she knows the clutter is suffocating her, yet it feels safer than letting go. With therapy and small, steady steps, Margaret begins to confront her attachment to her belongings and rediscovers a sense of control over her life.