What is Compulsive Hoarding?
Compulsive hoarding is the acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them) in excess of socially normal amounts, even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary. Compulsive hoarding may impair mobility and interfere with basic living activities, including cooking, cleaning, hygiene, sanitation, bathroom use and sleeping.
It is not clear whether compulsive hoarding is an isolated disorder, or rather a symptom of another condition, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Often, Compulsive hoarders will rationalise their behaviour by telling themselves that they may "need it later". This logic can turn the compulsion to an abiding fear that they may lose even one item from their mounds of guarded possessions. Typical hoarders will compulsively save things such as old newspapers, magazines, old clothing, bags, book, mail, notes and lists.
Signs may include:
The acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value.
Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed
Significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding
Reluctance or inability to return borrowed items; as boundaries blur, impulsive acquisitiveness could sometimes lead to stealing or kleptomania
The hoarer may believe that the hoarded items are very valuable, or know that the accumulated items are useless but keep them anyway, or attach a strong personal value to items which other people claim would have little or no value.
A hoarder of the first kind may show off a cutlery set claiming it to be made of silver and mother-of-pearl, disregarding the fact that the packaging clearly states the cutlery is made of steel and plastic.
A hoarder of the second type may have a refrigerator filled with uneaten food items months past their expiration dates, but in some cases vehemently resists any attempts by relatives to dispose of the unusable food. In other cases, the hoarder will recognize the need to clean the refrigerator but due (in part) to feelings that doing so would be an exercise in futility, and overwhelmed by the similar condition of the rest of their living space, fails to do so.
Hoarders of the third type often keep "collections" as a hobby. Dolls, toy soldiers, obsolete road maps, clothes, rusty tools, non-functional machines.
This is a recognised condition, a state we at Merseyside Property Clearance understand, if the property was inhabited by a person with this condition, we would be happy to talk to you.