Hoarding

Hoarding describes the activities of a person who has difficulties getting rid of possessions, regardless of their value, and is often accompanied by excessive acquisition of particular items. Hoarding disorder was added to the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as a stand-alone diagnosis. Hoarding has been defined through three criteria: (1) the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions; (2) clutter that precludes activities for which living spaces were designed; and (3) significant distress and impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding. The behavior has been referred to as “pathological collecting,” and due to the significantly cluttered living space that can result from the behavior, it has been found to cause ...