Hoarding has often been thought of as messy, bad habit of people who are not disciplined. But in recent years, it has been added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental illness making it an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Like most disorders, there is a treatment for hoarding, but you will first need to identify the signs to seek help. Here are three subtle signs to look out for:
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Compulsive acquiring
Hoarding disorder causes people to excessively accumulate items even those that are of less or no value, according to the Mayo Clinic. For some people, this symptom could present as constantly shopping online or in-person or collecting free stuff with the hope that they might need them. Often times, hoarders do not use or open purchases made.
Being unaware of clutter
Not everyone is organized, but unlike most people who are aware and ashamed of the clutter in their spaces, hoarders tend to be quite comfortable with it, CBC News. They fill up their homes with stuff that they are reluctant to throw away to a point where there is hardly any room available. According to Mayo Clinic:
Hoarding often creates such cramped living conditions that homes may be filled to capacity, with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Countertops, sinks, stoves, desks, stairways and virtually all other surfaces are usually piled with stuff.
When belongings cause distress
There are people who enjoy collecting specific items, but when your accumulated belongings become a burden than pleasure, yet you can’t seem to stop collecting items, you are likely on your way to becoming a hoarder. What you should keep in mind is that hoarding may not look like what is projected in media. Dr. Peggy Richter, a hoarding expert, told CBC News:
They can be you, me, your neighbour, your friend, so although many people may have a stereotype in mind from seeing some of the TV shows which really dramatized extremely severe cases of hoarding, in fact hoarding is very common.
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