Three Symptoms of Compulsive Hoarding Behavior

>

Even if a person enjoys collecting a lot of things, that does not automatically make them a hoarder? There are 3 frequent symptoms of compulsive hoarding behavior to watch out for.

Symptom #1

The individual will have an irrepressible obsession with acquiring material items. These items do not even require to be acquired via shopping, it is popular for hoarders to get them from the trash and from other persons.

Symptom # two:

The compulsive hoarders living space becomes so over-ridden with these items, that it makes it extremely tricky for the person to move around and function usually in the space. As the rooms turn into far more and far more cluttered, they grow to be completely unusable.

Symptom # three:

The individual who is exhibiting the hoarding behavior shows signs of diminished functionality because of this disorganization and may also begin to suffer from depression.

A individual can only be diagnosed with compulsive hoarding behavior if all three symptoms are present. The compulsion has to be so overwhelming that it basically causes visible complications in the life of the person affected.

Compulsive hoarders have a tendency to perpetually attain as well as save material possessions indefinitely. Even when items have useless and possibly even hazardous. It is quite frequent for hoarders to save items for years or even decades.

To better comprehend to emotional state of the hoarder, here is a widespread hoarding scenario:

A man in his sixties has attempted to get some expert aid with his hoarding behavior. His wife has left him and his kids have moved out because he refuses to get rid of the junk that has accumulated in the home over various years.

He feels helpless, but is not capable of throwing away the items.

The kitchen has a lot of old food containers, wrappers and trash on the floor. The living room is entirely full of boxes of junk and there is only a narrow walking path within that room.

The fire department becomes aware of the situation and deems his residence as "not up to code". They then give him a deadline to clean up his house and advise him that is if it is not completed by that date that the city will be forced to take action. Even immediately after being given a warning about the situation, his compulsion to attain items by means of uncontrollable shopping and via 'roadside trash trolling' has not ceased.

What does it feel like to be him?

When he walks down a street, he actively avoids going by newsstands, due to the fact he knows that he will have the compulsion to obtain an excessive quantity of magazines and newspapers. If he does, the new purchases will then wind up in some random box in the living room - when again.

He is uncontrollably drawn to the newsstand, thinking that possibly those newspapers and magazines will include information and facts that will hold the key to turning his life around for the greater.

He also feels this way when he observes people today throwing away broken furniture, appliances or gadgets in the trash. He looks via dumpsters and trash cans often (at least as soon as a week) to acquire stuff. He feels as though if some thing can be repaired or 'isn't in that poor of shape', then it is worth saving.

When the skilled organizer/therapist arrives, they start off slow. The therapist asks the man to pick just a couple of items to throw away (items that have no use and are not required).

When he attempts to throw away a smaller piece of paper with some random notes scribbled on it, he felt like he could do it at first, but then he began to get frantic when the scrap of paper fell into the trash can.

The reason? He felt like he was throwing away a piece of himself.