We all have those pile of t-shirts we wore in high school but don’t anymore, jeans that don’t fit us but think will fit again someday, or old magazines that take us back to the good old days. We all feel the need to retain some keepsakes but what if this attachment goes beyond nostalgia? What if the urge to hold on to things becomes overwhelming? When it starts interfering in your daily life, it may have reached the point of a hoarding disorder.
“Continuing difficulty to discard or part with possessions, irrespective of their actual value, can be deemed as hoarding disorder,” says Ann Treesa Rafi, a counselling psychologist and cognitive analytic therapy practitioner.
Those affected by hoarding disorder struggle to discard possessions, leading to excessive clutter taking over their living space. Over time, this clutter interferes with their daily functioning. “Obsessional fears of losing important items is the most common impetus behind compulsive hoarding. The patient believes they will be needed later, leading to distorted beliefs about the importance of possessions, excessive acquisition, and exaggerated emotional attachments to possessions,” says Anil V Iyer, a counselling psychologist and professor.
The key difference between hoarding and collecting is that collecting is typically systematic and well-maintained, bringing joy rather than distress. Those with hoarding disorder struggle with letting go, even when not doing so causes distress.
“Individuals with hoarding disorder usually have co-existing mood or anxiety disorders, the most common ones being major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder and generalised anxiety disorder,” says Rafi. Hoarding behaviour can arise from genetic factors, personality traits, cognitive deficits in decision-making, emotional attachment, and past traumatic events.
“Trauma could cause hoarding as a coping mechanism to maintain a sense of control and security for individuals who have faced a lack of the same,” shares Ninoy Rodrigues, a psychotherapist and counsellor. “Strong emotional attachments are formed to objects which may be rooted in a belief system that these objects serve as a tangible connection to various memories and experiences of people,” adds Kevin Simon, a psychotherapist. “Research links hoarding to disorders like schizophrenia, dementia, autism, and OCD. Around 30-40 per cent of OCD patients exhibit hoarding tendencies, with 10-15 per cent having it as their primary symptom,” adds Iyer.
Hoarding can escalate to extreme cases where individuals accumulate items to a point that poses serious health and safety risks. “I once encountered a 70-year-old woman who hoarded stacks of prayer books and handwritten prayer notes – so many that she could barely get through a fraction of them in a day. Her living space was completely congested. Any attempt by others to help clear things out only caused her immense distress, showing just how deeply hoarding disorder can take hold,” shares Rafi.
Addressing hoarding requires a compassionate and structured approach. “The most effective treatments for hoarding disorder involve a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) specifically tailored for hoarding, helping individuals change their thoughts and behaviours related to
acquiring and saving items and developing healthier decision-making patterns,” shares Simon, adding, “Additionally, support groups and family therapy play a crucial role in providing emotional encouragement and practical assistance.”