Hoarding Disorder

Hoarding disorder is defined by the drive to collect a large amount of useless or valueless items, coupled with extreme distress at the idea of throwing anything away. Over time, this situation can make a space unhealthy or dangerous to be in for a person.
Hoarding disorder can negatively impact someone emotionally, physically, socially and financially. This often leads to distress and disability. In addition, many hoarders cannot see that their actions are potentially harmful, and therefore may resist diagnosis or treatment. Intervention by family and friends may be needed to call attention to this and help the person get treatment.
Treatment is available for hoarding!! Different therapy modalities can help the person work on thought processes to begin to eliminate certain stressors from their life. Once these stressors are eliminated the individual can often feel able to eliminate the useless items they have collected, such as old newspapers, trash, and other items that do not have value. Early intervention is the best way to effectively treating hoarding disorder. If you or someone you know is beginning to exhibit any signs of hoarding please reach out for help.