Hoarding Traits Checklist

Hoarding is a serious mental health condition that causes people to live in an environment that most people would consider unlivable. Hoarders find themselves unable to throw anything away, and end up living in homes completely filled with what would appear to most people to be trash. Sanitation also becomes a concern with some hoarders.

Obsessive Compulsive

• Hoarding is a disease connected to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Like obsessive compulsive sufferers, those that are deep in the grips of the disease are unable to break free from their compulsions. Chronic doubt is a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder that often coexists with hoarding. Hoarders perpetually feel that if they throw something away, they will critically need it at some point in the future.

Acquisition

• The first part of a hoarding condition is the acquisition phase. A sufferer of the condition may suddenly have an overwhelming need to buy or possess certain items. He feels that he needs the item or will desperately need it at some point in the future. He may also feel a deep emotional connection to the item. Often, these items are characterized as being objects that most people wouldn't even want, let alone covet.

Possession

• Once a hoarder has something in her possession, she is unlikely to ever let it go. The object takes on extreme levels of importance in the hoarder's mind. The thought of throwing something away, selling it or giving it to someone else causes extreme discomfort and mental anguish. The inability to get rid of old objects coupled with the drive to acquire new ones is why hoards slowly grow over time.

Indecision

• Most hoarders have a difficult time making decisions regarding their possessions. This is related to the inability to throw things out. A hoarder who is unable to decide whether an item is useful will simply err on the side of keeping it. This inability to make decisions also reflects itself in the way that hoarders tend to amass piles of debris rather than having large, organized collections. They find themselves unable to decide where to put something or how to organize it, so they simply leave it where it lies.