What Are the Causes of Hoarding Tendencies?

Several television series devoted to the subject of hoarding have revealed a seldom-publicized problem in which people fill their homes with objects that are useless, unhealthy and even dangerous. The condition may affect as many as 2 million people in the United States. Hoarders may be people who compulsively buy or acquire items, or those who simply never throw anything away. Some hoarders collect animals, although they have little ability to care for the health of their pets.

Denial

• Hoarders may not see a problem with their obsession, or they typically defend their collections by insisting the that items, no matter how damaged or useless, can be reused or will be of value in the future. Stacks of newspapers will be needed for reference, for instance, or objects claimed from others' garbage could be valuable, the hoarders insist. Some hoarders consider themselves "collectors," but unlike collecting, hoarding is obsessive and interferes with the hoarder's life.

Hoarding

• Hoarding is a mental disorder that differs from simple slovenly housekeeping when the hoarder obsessively collects items and refuses to, or is unable to, discard them; when the clutter grows so great that the hoarder can't manage simple tasks like cooking or bathing; when the hoarder refuses to allow others to have access to his home; or when the problem becomes serious enough to warrant the intervention of local officials, such as the building inspector, child protective services or animal control.

Danger

• Despite the health threats of living among decaying garbage, dangerously high piles of junk and animal --- and even human --- feces, the hoarders feel safe and protected when they are surrounded by their possessions, as if they have built a wall against the world.

Causes

• While causes of hoarding are not always obvious, a family history of hoarding may account for some cases. On the other hand, hoarding may be a reaction to a parent's overly obsessed concern with neatness. Some hoarders cling to objects in response to feelings of having been rejected or abandoned as children. While hoarding often starts in the early teens, it can also begin abruptly in later life. Hoarding may be associated with a traumatic incident, such as divorce or a death in the family. Hoarding objects, or simply refusing to get rid of trash, becomes a coping mechanism. Objects may carry strong memories or emotional connections. Faced with the anxiety of making decisions about getting rid of items, some hoarders simply give up and refuse to get rid of anything.

Isolation

• Hoarders may feel isolated from family, friends and society in general. As their hoard grows, they may experience guilt and shame, refusing to allow others into their homes and drawing further away from outside connections. Hoarding can also be seen as an attention-getting or manipulative device, not necessarily a conscious one, as hoarders become the focus of concern among friends and family members. The hoarding may represent repressed anger or rage against family members or society in general. The hoarder will argue that how he lives is no one's business.

Connections

• Compulsive hoarding may also occur in conjunction with anxiety disorders, addiction, depression, bipolar disorder and mobility problems. Hoarding can result from certain impulse control disorders, such as compulsive shopping. Fear of losing control results in a need to control her life and environment that forces the hoarder to keep every one of her possessions.