Hoarding Disorder
Abstract
Hoarding is a chronic disorder that hinders a person’s quality of life. Comorbidity towards other psychiatric conditions are quite common. Comparatively, hoarding disorder appears more frequently in the population than OCD and Schizophrenia, yet psychologists know very little about the disorder and how to treat it. Hoarding symptoms include excessive acquiring, messiness, distress, and impairment in functioning. Hoarding can cause serious health problems to the person, therefore it is crucial for the well-being of the individual that intervention and therapy start as soon as the disorder is identified. Family, friends and neighbors must take responsibility for being cognizant of the warning signs for hoarding. Effective treatment has yet to be found, but researchers are trying to develop the proper treatment for the disorder in order to help the many individuals suffering from hoarding disorder.
Introduction
Hoarding is an extremely debilitating disorder that is extremely prevalent in today’s
society. Hoarding effects approximately 4% of the population. There are serious ramifications that result from hoarding, not only for the person who hoards, but also for their family and friends. This paper discusses current literature on hoarding, including its comorbidity, clinical presentation, and treatment.
Statistics
Hoarding is a chronic disorder that usually demonstrates comorbidity towards other mental health conditions, such as OCD. Symptoms usually develop in early adolescence (Giliam & Tolin, 2010). Symptoms include disorganization, indecisiveness, procrastination and isolation (Saxena et al., 2004).
A recent study was conducted and stated that 60% of participants started showing hoarding symptoms by age 12, and 80% by age 18 (Grisham et al., 2006). Individuals who stated to have symptoms later in life were more likely to report a more stressful life than those were stated to have symptoms earlier in life....