HOARDING

• Mayo Clinic Definition: Hoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them.
• Therapist’s Definition – Many of you know my friend and colleague on the show Hoarders, Dr. Michael A. Tompkins. He defines Hoarding by placing an emphasis on four central factors: excessive acquiring, difficulty discarding, living in cluttered spaces, and having significant distress or impairment. He also advises using the “HARM Reduction Technique” in his interventions – which basically means to do no harm and meet the hoarder at his or her level.
• Public Health Definition: This definition mostly represents the health of the community, the neighborhood or public health at large. Prosecutors might define hoarding as it impacts the community as a whole – rodents, fire and safety, building and code issues, viruses, animal control, or child endangerment.
• Landlord’s Definition. He or she might say, “I know I need to be politically correct here – but I don’t want all my tenants freaking out and I don’t want a law suit on my hands and I don’t want my property value to drop. How can we “get rid of these people?” What do I have to do? Can’t we do some sort of intervention here?”
• Desperate Family Member’s Definition: I can hear them now…. “I don’t get it – my sister seems fine with her hoard and I can’t take it anymore. I’m in agony, I’m suffering, I can’t help, I am completely powerless around this. Please if I could only get this cleaned up for her. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know what this ‘hoarding’ is!”
• Individual with the Hoarding Problem might say: “I don’t think I’m a Hoarder – if I need to clean this up then I will but I don’t think I need to right now.”

MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT’S YOUR DEFINITION? After reviewing these various definitions, you will come to understand that you probably relate to one group more than another. What feels feel right for you?

Organizations That Can Provide Help And Info

American Psychiatric Association – Provides latest psychiatric research.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America – Provides info and referrals for these disorders

Anxiety Disorders Center at Hartford Hospital – Info about hoarding disorder and referral info

Department of Housing and Urban Development – Provides info about reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities

Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies – Provides info about mental illness and referrals with mental illnesses including hoarding.

Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium – Provides resources about animal hoarding, animal welfare and referrals for people who hoard animals.

Institute for Challenging Disorganization – Provides education and strategies for people with chronic disorganization and provides access to professional organizers and therapists who can help with hoarding.

International OCD Foundation – Provides advocacy, research and treatment of OCD – also has a hoarding section with resources.

Mental Health Association of San Francisco Annual conference on hoarding open to professional and people who hoard and their families.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill – Provides resources nationwide for those suffering with a mental illness.

National Association of Professional Organizers – Provides info about how professional organizers can assist with hoarding disorder. Has a directory of organizers who can help.

National Institute of Mental Health – Provides mental health info and current mental health research.

National Attention Deficit Disorder Association – Provides info about ADD and referrals for ADD coaches through the American Coaching Association.