When Does Clutter Become Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Learn the difference between normal hoarding and piling and the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder type.
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?
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.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder?
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.
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 several symptoms:
- Compulsive buying
- Stockpiling things
- Rarely or never discarding items
- 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
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 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.