Hoarding 1

Running Head: HOARDING

Hoarding: The Compulsive Need to Collect

Aaron Lowe

Grant MacEwan University

PSYC 233 – 100

Dr. David C. Watson

March 30, 2010

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Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is quite a hard disorder to cope with, both

for the individual with the disorder, as well as those closest to them. Family can become

affected the most, having to deal with the individual most of the time. People who have an

obsessive-compulsive personality are characterized by intolerance of uncertainty and strategies

to avoid mistakes, and see themselves as responsible, conscientious, and hard working.

(Weertman et al., p. 1255). Here in lies one of the major problems with obsessive-compulsive

individuals: they do not see that there is anything wrong with their methods of doing things,

and see others as irresponsible, self-indulgent, or incompetent (Weertman et al., p. 1256).

They also find it difficult to express the reasons for why they do the things they do (Weertman

et al., p. 1255). This is why it can be such a hard disorder to cope with. One of the sub-

categories with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is an issue that has even gained

media coverage television networks: hoarding.

Hoarding, as documented by Seedat and Stein (2002) is the repetitive collection of

excessive quantities of poorly useable items of little or no value with failure to discard these

items over time (p. 17). It is characterized in the DSM-IV as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive

personality disorder. The individual will keep items of little or no value, in hopes to find use for

them later in life, just in case. The problem is they do not see the items as little or no value.

They see them as practical, as is the behaviour of keeping them. The most common fear of

hoarders is throwing away an item of practical value (Seedat & Stein, p. 17). This can cause a

massive build-up of clutter and garbage within the individual’s household. In a study on 15

cases done by Seedat and Stein (2002), only one of the 15 individuals saw their hoarding as a
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problem or illness which needed treatment (p. 17), and none of the subjects had dementia or a

psychotic disorder (p. 18).

Hoarding can affect social life, work, and academic performance (Seedat & Stein, p. 19).

Think of what it would be like to go over to someone’s home that has a compulsion to hoard.

Depending on the severity, you would have little or no room to sit and relax, causing socializing

to become difficult or uncomfortable. Items that could be considered perishable would be

emanating a smell that would most likely be unpleasant, causing the overall experience to be

something you would not want to return to in the near future. In regards to work, the

individual has one more place to hoard items: his or her desk. This would add to the social

factor as well.

The studies done by Seedat and Stein revealed what could cause an increase or

decrease in hoarding behaviour. “Subjects’ attributed a worsening of hoarding behaviour to

factors such as stress, loneliness, and depression. Factors that reduced hoarding included being

busy [or being] occupied, being in the company of other people, and being happy,” (Seedat &

Stein, p. 19). These findings almost make it seem like an addiction, such as that of smoking.

When stress is brought on to the individual they are more compelled to hoard, as would a

smoker then smoke; but when the mind is occupied with other stimuli, the compulsion to hoard

becomes less and less.

“Research suggests that hoarding is difficult to treat and is associated with poor

outcomes following medication and behaviour therapy that have proved effective for non-

hoarding [obsessive-compulsive] symptoms,” (Muroff et al., p. 635). Group cognitive

behavioural therapy is often used to help treat obsessive-compulsive behaviour as well as other
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dysfunctional behaviour. Both group and individual cognitive behavioural therapy or therapy

show statistically significant reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms (Jaurrieta et al., p.

604). Individual as opposed to group therapy requires several home visits and more sessions

due to the one-on-one aspect. This has provided issues with cost of the treatment with clients.

It also has a lower chance for providing the motivation needed by the hoarding individual.

When it comes to group therapy, there are more options such as workplace therapy that can be

integrated into the treatment, which also provides external input from other suffering from the

disorder, causing an increase in motivation (Muroff et al., p. 635). In the recent study done by

Muroff et al. (2009), group cognitive behavioural therapy helped treat individuals with hoarding

symptoms and “[demonstrated] feasibility and modest success in improving outcomes,” (p.

638). It assisted in the cost-effectiveness of the therapy, and also assisted in the social aspect

of help from other group members, which as discussed before, was key in providing motivation

for the individuals (Muroff et al., p. 638). As Muroff et al. states, “[the motivational] aspect is

important for hoarding clients, in particular, because of the social isolation commonly found

among this population and acute difficulty with motivation,”(p. 638).

Hoarding is only one of the several symptoms that can come along with obsessive-

compulsive personality disorder, yet it seems to be one of the more severe complexes to be

observed. It is a paradox: a person who sees themselves as responsible, conscientious, and

hard working can exhibit a symptom of such messiness and a compulsion to collect unneeded

things of no monetary value. Thus, themselves showing the incompetence for which they view

others in their own social network. Quite an anomaly, hoarding is.

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References

Jaurrieta, N., Jimenez-Murcia, S., Menchón, J. M., Alonso, M. D. P., Segalas, C., Álvarez-Moya, E.

M., . . . Vallejo, J. (2008). Individual Versus Group Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment for

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Controlled Pilot Study. Psychotherapy Research,

18(5), 604 – 614.

Muroff, J., Steketee, G., Rasmussen, J., Gibson, A., Christiana, B., & Sorrentino, C. (2009). Group

Cognitive and Behavioral Treatment for Compulsive Hoarding: A Preliminary Trial.

Depression and Anxiety 26, 634 – 640.

Seedat, S. & Stein, D. J. (2002). Hoarding in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Related

Disorders: A Preliminary Report of 15 Cases. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 56. 17

– 23.

Weertman, A., Arntz, A., de Jong, P. J. & Rinck, M. (2008). Implicit Self – and other –

Associations in Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Traits. Cognition and

Emotion 22(7), 1253 – 1275.