Hoarding Disorder: A Looming National Crisis?

[erronis]

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/hoarding-disorder-looming-national-crisis-2024a1000lex

A report published earlier this year by the US Senate Special Committee on Aging is calling for a national coordinated response to what the authors claim may be an emerging hoarding disorder (HD) crisis.

While millions of US adults are estimated to have HD, it is the disorder’s prevalence and severity among older adults that sounded the alarm for the Committee Chair Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA).

HD affects roughly 2% of the overall population but up to 6% of all people older than 70 years, the report stated. Older adults made up about 16% of the US population in 2019. By 2060, that proportion is projected to soar to 25%.

The country’s aging population alone “could fuel a rise in hoarding in the coming decades,” the report authors noted.

These findings underscore the pressing need for a deeper understanding of HD, particularly as reports of its impact continue to rise. The Senate report also raises critical questions about the nature of HD: What is known about the condition? What evidence-based treatments are currently available, and are there national strategies that will prevent it from becoming a systemic crisis?

...

HD is characterized by persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their monetary value. For individuals with HD, such items frequently hold meaningful reminders of past events and provide a sense of security. Difficulties with emotional regulation, executive functioning, and impulse control all contribute to the excessive buildup of clutter. Problems with attention, organization, and problem-solving are also common.

As individuals with HD age, physical limitations or disabilities may hinder their ability to discard clutter. As the accumulation increases, it can pose serious risks not only to their safety but also to public health.

[delisen]

1. Buying disorder is a much greater problem

and afflicts people of all ages and is a major contributor to climate crisis.

[jimfields33]

2. How? It seems like an individual problem

If someone has 20 years of toilet paper, they actually will save money long term and won’t hurt the environment anymore than a person who drives to the store every week to buy toilet paper.

[delisen]

4. True

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Really well my family has the Hoarding Disorder gene

Everything is saved but the things without value become the things in the money. The things you thought were worth something are just garbage. It is really about scarcity.

[yardwork]

5. My mother became a hoarder.

She had always been a collector of antiques, books and other items, but as she aged and dementia took over, she became a hoarder.

It was very difficult for us family members who were trying to care for her. It didn't help that her sister - also a hoarder - would send her stuff through the mail and take her to flea markets.

Finally, her dementia reached a point where I had to take over her finances and she had to move to assisted living. This turned off most of the new acquisitions (except boxes from her sister, which I had delivered to my house so I could separate useful things from junk before taking it over to mom), but hoarding includes other habits, like hiding soiled clothes, not bathing, etc. She would hide her phone and forget where it was, etc.

It was a nightmare.

[erronis]

6. I guess I'm lucky. I had way too many books, CDs, etc. And then I became homeless

and had to fit anything I wanted to keep in my car.

My daughter won't thank me but this just made her burden when I kick the bucket much easier.

[mountain grammy]

9. I'm sorry you became homeless.

I hope that's changed.

[XanaDUer2]

7. I think its loneliness

Things take the place of ppl

[exboyfil]

8. My wife is deeply in

and our house is deeply filled with stuff as a consequence. I have basically raised the white flag and given up reasoning with her. The entire downstairs of our two story except for a small space for my food prep is filled. Our bedroom is also filled with stuff as well as much of my daughter's room (she has her own place but sleeps at home most of the time - another issue).

I do have my own hoarding issues when it comes to books. It has been several years since I have gotten any physical books except those related to my profession, but I do have a difficult time parting with them.

She collects cards, notes, and newspapers. She can't get rid of anything without serious personal reflection on every item. She continues to purchase cards which she doesn't use. She refuses to put in any effort to actually organize it. Every surface (table and floor) is covered.

Tried couple's therapy and that was a disaster. She has other personal demons that she discussed when she met with a therapist one on one last year (a childhood trauma).

My approach has been loving acceptance and just trying to accommodate. Not sure what happens when the paths in the home eventually close up.