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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffHoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them. Hoarding often creates such cramped living conditions that homes may be filled to capacity, with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Some people also collect animals, keeping dozens or hundreds of pets in unsanitary conditions.
Hoarding, also called compulsive hoarding and compulsive hoarding syndrome, can be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). But many people who hoard don't have other OCD-related symptoms, and researchers are working to better understand hoarding as a distinct mental health problem.
People who hoard often don't see it as a problem, making treatment challenging. But intensive treatment can help people who hoard understand their compulsions and live a safer, more enjoyable life.
- Maidment K. Compulsive hoarding syndrome - An introduction. Obsessive Compulsive Foundation.http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/about-hoarding/compulsive-hoarding-syndrome-introduction.php. Accessed April 14, 2009.
- Neziroglu F, et al. How compulsive hoarding affects families. Obsessive Compulsive Foundation.http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/effects-family-society/how-compulsive-hoarding-affects-families.php. Accessed April 14, 2009.
- Abramowitz J, et al. The status of hoarding as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2008;46:1026.
- Pertusa A, et al. Compulsive hoarding: OCD symptom, distinct clinical syndrome, or both? The American Journal of Psychiatry. 2008;165:1289.
- Saxena S. Recent advances in compulsive hoarding. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2008;10:297.
- Frost RO, et al. Measurement of compulsive hoarding: Saving inventory - revised. Behavior Research and Therapy. 2004;42:1163.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
- Maidment K. Problems in treating compulsive hoarding. Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/treatment/problems-in-treating-compulsive-hoarding.php. Accessed April 14, 2009.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 17, 2009.
