Hoarders

[VandalSquirrel]

Where are Drole and KSUViolet with the DSM-IV and letters after their names?

I remember from Abnormal Psychology that hoarding was often put with OCD and anxiety disorders, but that hoarders often had comorbidity with depression and add/adhd.

I actually know quite a few people with hoarders in their family who have had to clean up when someone dies or enters assisted living. These were people alive during the Depression and WWII as well as from rural farm areas so at some point it may have crossed the line from "don't throw things away they could be useful or we need it/can't get it/can fix it" to junk and garbage. I was also completely fascinated by siblings where one was a hoarder and the other was super neat & clean to the point of germphobia, which made the OCD connection from class real life.

I know my home town has been open and going public about hoarders and trying to help them and their families, I think the first hoarder show that spawned the series was out of San Francisco. It is notoriously hard to treat with therapy and medication and relapse is high.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by VandalSquirrel

Where are Drole and KSUViolet with the DSM-IV and letters after their names?

I remember from Abnormal Psychology that hoarding was often put with OCD and anxiety disorders, but that hoarders often had comorbidity with depression and add/adhd.

I actually know quite a few people with hoarders in their family who have had to clean up when someone dies or enters assisted living. These were people alive during the Depression and WWII as well as from rural farm areas so at some point it may have crossed the line from "don't throw things away they could be useful or we need it/can't get it/can fix it" to junk and garbage. I was also completely fascinated by siblings where one was a hoarder and the other was super neat & clean to the point of germphobia, which made the OCD connection from class real life.

I know my home town has been open and going public about hoarders and trying to help them and their families, I think the first hoarder show that spawned the series was out of San Francisco. It is notoriously hard to treat with therapy and medication and relapse is high.

I was pretty sure we'd had the conversation before, that's all.* The DSM-IV doesn't recognize hoarding as a separate disorder IIRC, but you're right that it's typically an expression of other psychological issues. I'm curious about how the DSM-V will address it, if it does.

*and work/personal issues, but that's a whole other kettle of fish.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by rhoyaltempest

It's interesting how no one has mentioned the psychological issues behind this disease. For these people on "Hoarders" on A&E at least, it's not just about collecting things, it's about much more. I collect things too but it's not destroying my life and burying me in a deep depression. Being deeply depressed can make one be "gross." And I do believe addiction is part of it at the extreme level. Actually anything can be an addiction for those who are prone to it.

Originally Posted by Drolefille

I was pretty sure we'd had the conversation before, that's all.* The DSM-IV doesn't recognize hoarding as a separate disorder IIRC, but you're right that it's typically an expression of other psychological issues. I'm curious about how the DSM-V will address it, if it does.

*and work/personal issues, but that's a whole other kettle of fish.

I think it's not a disorder of its own because there are different underlying causes for it. I worked with depressed adults who essentially "hoarded" because they didn't have the energy to deal with anything because of their deep depression. I worked with schizophrenics who were simply too psychotic to take care of anything. I worked with OCD people who were hoarding because of the OCD.

My mom had hoarding tendencies which got worse the more disabled she became. Some of it was understandable. She stockpiled food because she was afraid that something would happen and those of us who brought her food wouldn't be able to get to her place. She stockpiled things like empty jars and plastic containers because she had a hard time throwing things in the garbage that were useful. She did keep all of her professional magazines/journals, even after she was on disability for 10 years. Part of the problem was that she couldn't physically do things the way she wanted. With the jars/plastic containers, she would have recycled them if she could. I get the food thing because she couldn't go out and get her own. But, she had always been a bit of a pack rat. It was just better stored and organized when she could physically do that herself.