The Psychology Behind Hoarding

Hoarding can be just a personal preference, but it can be viewed as a disorder when that behavior starts to negatively impact daily functioning. Symptoms of a hoarding disorder:

• There is difficulty getting rid of possessions, regardless of their value or lack thereof.
• The difficulty in discarding possessions is due to distress associated with getting rid of them.
• The difficulty in discarding possessions leads to clutter and compromise of living spaces.
• Hoarding creates clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning, including the ability to maintain a safe space.

There are known risk factors that cause someone to become a hoarder, such as experiencing a traumatic event, persistent difficulty making decisions, and having a family member that is a hoarder.

Hoarding tendencies often emerge in adolescence. Many hoarders are also socially withdrawn and may hoard to find comfort.