The bulk of evidence suggests that hoarding occurs with equal frequency in men and women. Hoarding behavior begins relatively early in life and increases in severity with each decade.
The prevalence of hoarding in the female gender is controversial: in a sample of self-identified hoarders (SIH), Frost et al. (2011) reported that 78% was made up of women while the percent of women and men in the general population was, respectively, 5.6 and 2.6%.
It is estimated that around 2% – 6% of the population suffers from hoarding disorder. HD appears to affect men and women at similar rates.
Hoarding disorder is more likely to affect people over 60 years old and people with other mental health conditions, especially anxiety and depression.
Hoarding is a disorder that may be present on its own or as a symptom of another disorder. Those most often associated with hoarding are obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression.
Some researchers believe hoarding can relate to childhood experiences of losing things, not owning things, or people not caring for you. This might include experiences like: Money worries or living in poverty in childhood. Having your belongings taken or thrown away by someone.
Personality. Many people who have hoarding disorder have a behavior style that includes trouble making decisions and problems with attention, organization and problem-solving. Family history. There is a strong association between having a family member who has hoarding disorder and having the disorder yourself.
Results: Hoarding symptoms were associated with greater self-reported emotional empathy, specifically emotional contagion, and less self-reported cognitive empathy.
Hoarding disorder is a mental health problem that a doctor can diagnose. But you might also experience hoarding as part of another mental or physical health problem. If you hoard, you might: Feel the need to get more things, even if you have a lot already.
Some individuals with hoarding disorder may recognize and acknowledge that they have a problem with accumulating possessions; others may not see a problem.
Hoarders often endure a lifelong struggle with hoarding. They tend to live alone and may have a family member with the problem. It seems likely that serious hoarding problems are present in at least 1in 50 people, but they may be present in as many as 1 in 20.
These behaviors can cause significant embarrassment and shame. As a result, you may not want to let people into your space due to fear of judgment. Hoarding is associated with many other mental health conditions. One of the most prevalent associations with hoarding behavior is its link with depression.
Often, hoarders are embarrassed by the number of possessions they have and are uncomfortable allowing others to see them. Clutter crowds living spaces and the initial joy that may be felt when acquiring something new quickly turns to shame and sadness.
Hoarding disorders are challenging to treat because many people who hoard frequently do not see it as a problem, or have little awareness of how it's affecting their life or the lives of others.
It is often accompanied by a compulsion to check and recheck that things are still there. Often, hoarding will coexist with self-awareness of the issue, and then a subsequent self-loathing. Hoarders know their habits are abnormal, and yet they cannot help themselves.
Compulsive hoarding is a progressive and chronic condition that begins early in life. Left untreated, its severity increases with age. Compulsive hoarding should be considered a distinct clinical syndrome, separate from OCD.
Level 1: The Least Severe Level with Few Indicators
Cabinets, closets, storage sheds and bookshelves are filled to the max. The individual that is a level 1 hoarder finds throwing items away difficult and does an unreasonable amount of shopping for items that are not needed.
Offering general support. If you are supporting someone who is hoarding, whether they agree or not, you should try to keep these important points in mind: Use respectful language. Don't refer to their possessions as 'junk' or 'rubbish'.
If a person tries to move the possessions without the hoarder's consent, the hoarder can become emotionally upset or angry. This can potentially result in the helpful individual's expulsion from the home.
Brain damage
It is suggested that abnormal brain development and brain lesions could lead to compulsive behaviors of hoarding.
Hoarding often runs in families and can frequently accompany other mental health disorders, like depression, social anxiety, bipolar disorder, and impulse control problems. A majority of people with compulsive hoarding can identify another family member who has the problem.
Again, hoarding may be viewed as selfish—or not—depending on the context. “Many of the items that people are hoarding are 'care' items—diapers, toilet paper, sanitizer—things that enable and represent the ability to give care to others,” says Foster.
Medicines are used to treat other conditions such as anxiety and depression that often occur along with hoarding disorder. The medicines most commonly used are a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).