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We've all come home to piles of clothes, papers or unwashed dishes left by our roommates, siblings, spouses or kids. You may have childhood memories of a basement filled with stacks of old magazines, newspapers and moldy books, or dozens of cans of vegetables your mother bought for the rainy day that never arrived. You may be the kind of person who buys so much toilet paper at a time that you could supply the whole neighborhood. But what is the difference between normal hoarding and piling, and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder type?  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Clutter: An Idiosyncrasy That Becomes Excessive You've seen talk shows about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and compulsive hoarding, featuring people who have crammed their living spaces with their purchases. Seemingly useless items are saved for sentimental, emotional or even aesthetic reasons, and the thought of throwing them out causes the hoarder much distress. As the clutter becomes overwhelming, people face financial problems as their bills get lost in the mess, or they become reclusive as they try to hide their living conditions. The studio audience gasps in disbelief, and it's likely many of us at home react the same way. But we also experience that nagging feeling of recognition. After all, aren't some of our garages or basements cluttered with yard sale purchases we once deemed too good to pass up? And haven't bulk-buying retail outlets like Costco done a number on our cupboard space? A Relation to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)? Psychologists call the behavior of compulsive buying and saving "clinical hoarding," and most consider it a sub-type of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. An estimated 2 to 3 percent of the population suffers from OCD, and up to a third of these exhibit clinical hoarding behavior. Other psychologists believe it is a form of Attention Deficit Disorder. This behavior has also been found in people with anorexia, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and among people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Rest assured, there is a difference between the clinically affected and the garden-variety clutter bug. As with many behaviors, hoarding is on a continuum, and symptoms range from mild to severe. The behavior itself is characterized by compulsive buying and stockpiling things, rarely or never discarding items, and failing to organize and maintain saved possessions. It reaches clinical status when living spaces are jammed to the point that they are no longer usable, and when the hoarding causes significant distress or functional impairment. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Clutter Treatments Clinical hoarding behaviors are treatable through counseling, drug therapy or a combination of both. For those with milder forms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or hoarding behavior, help may be as close as a trusted friend who can help sort through and discard (or donate) unneeded belongings, or through the professional assistance of an organizational coach or "clutter buster." Even if you don't want to redo your house with feng shui solutions that circulate energy and make you healthy, wealthy and wise, you can make one or two little changes. Perhaps you can clean up just one pile this weekend, solicit the help of your partner and together clean up just one room, or suggest that you'd be willing to help your girlfriend, husband or kids tidy up an area that drives you crazy. And even if you improve only one thing but it doesn't lead to total personality change, at least you might be one step closer to entering that previously inaccessible basement. However, if you or someone you know demonstrates the kind of excessive behavior that goes beyond messy into compulsive, don't hesitate to take action—try a support group or seek professional assistance before things get too far out of hand.  |
