Hoarding Disorder

People with hoarding behavior also may be suffering from a variety of other disorders. Many hoarders have problems with anxiety, separation anxiety, and attachment disorder (HelpGuide, 2010). Someone with separation anxiety and attachment disorder feels afraid to be apart from a certain person or object or is fearful of being alone. People with these attachment disorders or other attachment problems have difficulty connecting to others and

Hoarding is not currently considered an illness on its own right. Compulsive hoarding has been treated as symptom or subtype of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Cluttergone).

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a neurobehavioral disorder which causes distressing repetitive thoughts, impulses, or images which are intense and frightening (Hyman 19). Many people who are affected by OCD always want to be clean, or sometimes even hoard (Watkins 17). There are many signs of which can show OCD. For example, a concern with dirt and germs, frequent handwashing, long bathroom trips, and the avoidance of becoming dirty (Hyman 31). On average, in America, there are about 2.2 million adults with OCD (Watkins 16). In Britain one in sixty people are affected (Frith). Studies have also shown that two-thirds of individuals with this disability also suffer depression (Watkins 41). There are many physical and mental symptoms. They struggle physically with stress (Chamberlain), depression (Watkins 41), and a concern with dirt and germs (Hyman 31). They also mentally struggle with everything having to be perfect (Frith).

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM) classified hoarding as a symptom of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCD) (Singh and Jones 2013) and has been treated as such. The hoarding syndrome being classified as only a symptom of a disorder has led to little attention for this condition. "However, studies have been conducted to differentiate hoarding disorder from obsessive compulsive disorder which has influenced the development and inclusion of the distinct diagnostic category of hoarding disorder within the new DSM V"(Singh, Jones. 2013). From this, research of the hoarding syndrome has increased over the years but is still not as known as it should be to the public.

I believe that the disorder that is being portrayed in Monica is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This anxiety disorder, has a wide spectrum of intensity. It is persistent, recurring, involuntary thoughts, images, or impulses that invade the consciousness. Some characteristics of people with this disorder compulsively are checking, counting, cleaning, organizing, and hoarding (packrats being a lesser version). Monica displays in this episode a chronic need for organization.

In Wakefield’s article, “DSM-5: An Overview of Changes and Controversies” (2013), he has found issues with the DSM. For example, when diagnosing obsessive compulsive disorder, hoarding was a possible symptom, but now hoarders do not meet the criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder. Moreover, hoarding sometimes represents a health or safety hazard. In principle, having the diagnosis makes sense, but the issue lies with over diagnosis. According to Wakefield, “People naturally vary in their tendency to collect and save things,” so what or who determines what is valuable, an appropriate use of a room, or how much clutter is too much? The criteria is too vague and may be misapplied. “In an interesting twist, to prevent missing cases, the criteria

With that being said, this study also found that the participants who have a hoarding disorder, took a lot more time to make a decision about throwing out their possessions than did the others. They felt the feelings of distress and anxiety when faced with the decision making

B. When hoarding is extreme, family members and/or friends should refer an individual to a clinician. From there a clinician should consider a diagnosis of OCD.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also called OCD, is characterized by two behaviors – obsessions and compulsions. A person with OCD has an obsession or persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thought, which leads them to do actions or compulsions that’s ritualistic in nature. They do these actions to temporarily relieve the anxiety that they feel with the persistent thought, and for this reason, they feel compelled to perform these actions. For example, someone with OCD might be worried about getting sick or being infected by germs, and they might engage in excessive hand washing or cleaning. Their anxiety is relieved once they’ve cleaned or washed their hands a lot. Of course, this relief doesn’t last for a long time as the thoughts are persistent

Clinical Psychologist’s must tackle a huge number of mental disorders. They can range from anything being Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to Schizophrenia. To fully comprehend the application of clinical psychology in the real-world environment one must fully understand the realm of psychology and all that goes with it. Here I will provide an overview of my chosen disorder being Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I will then discuss the biological, psychological and social factors that are involved in my case. I will then explain which interventions would be appropriate

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring obsession or compulsions where he or she feels the urge to check things repeatedly, perform certain routines repeatedly or have certain thoughts repeatedly. This disorder can influence those of all ages, gender and ethnicities. Individuals cannot control either their activities or their exercises for more than a moment. Normal exercises include hand washing, counting, putting items in order, and verifying whether an entryway is closed or locked. Some may experience issues when tossing things out, identifying with hoarding disorder. These exercises jump out at such an extent, to the point that the individual's

The main reasons people hoard are: they feel an item will be useful in the future, it has sentimental value, or it is too big of a bargain to throw out (Neziroglu). It can be nearly impossible to make a hoarder part with their possessions. By keeping so many possessions, their homes often become crowded and hazardous for others who live there. It can also quickly become unsanitary such as: leaving piles of old food and dirty dishes in the

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a cyclical mental health condition which involves unending obsessions paired with unsatisfying compulsions performed to attempt to alleviate the emotional and physical suffering generated by the obsessions. There are approximately five main clusters of OCD; checkers, doubters and sinners, counters and arrangers, hoarders, and washers and cleaners. Accounting for about one quarter of OCD sufferers, the most abundant category is washers and cleaners and serves as the focus of this paper. OCD’s severity ranges from minor effects on a person’s life to completely debilitating. If your case is severe enough, it will affect your job, personal relationship, friendships, and normal functioning in a profoundly

In the DSM III, hoarding is one of the criteria listed for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It remained that way through DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-IV-R (Frost & Steketee, 2013). In the DSM-5, hoarding disorder is classified as its own mental

The obsessive–compulsive-related disorders may include pathological grooming disorders such as trichotillomania, whereas a parallel category under consideration contains behavioral and substance addictions, including the impulse-control disorders such as compulsive buying and internet addiction. In this article, we accept that, whatever its diagnostic classification, shopping addiction is a behavior that can bring an individual to a psychiatrist, and consider it from a clinical perspective. (Shopping addiction BJPhysic