3 Things You Didn't Know About Hoarding

You’ve probably seen the show Hoarders or are at least aware that hoarding is when someone collects and saves items like a pack rat to the point that it causes them distress. As a company who cleans up hoarded areas, we’d like to share with you a few things that you may not know about hoarding.

1. Hoarding has a genetic component.

Hoarding is considered a disorder and many people diagnosed with the disorder suffer from compulsive hoarding. The department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins University School of Medicine did an OCD Collaborative Genetics Study and found that compulsive hoarding behaviors is linked to chromosome 14. So, the behavior can be passed down from parents to their children. Often times, it takes a trauma such as abuse to bring out the behavior. 

     

         2.  Hoarders fill up any space they’re given.

When people think of hoarding, they usually think of things piled to the ceiling but what they don’t realize is that hoarders actually use every space they can and it interferes with their daily activities and personal care. A study on hoarders over the age of 60 showed that 45% couldn’t use their refrigerator because it was either buried or it had non-food items in it. 42% couldn’t use their bathtub because it was filled with items and 10% couldn’t get to their toilet. As you can imagine, not being able to take a bath or use the toilet can dramatically affect their hygiene. As a result, many hoarders don’t have people around them because they are ashamed of the way they are.

        3.   Most hoarders are perfectionist.

Sounds counterintuitive, right? When someone’s a perfectionist, they see things as all or nothing. And believe me when I say that hoarders see it as all or nothing. I’ve seen it plenty of times. They have to get that “just right” feeling in order to feel content. As a result, they’ll do it over and over until they feel it’s “just right”. That may mean they won’t just have 5 shirts with the tags on them sitting in a pile. Hoarders will keep buying more until they feel they have enough, until it’s just right. This may mean they’ll have a room full of hundreds of them!

Some interesting facts, huh? We hope you learned something new about hoarding. To get more facts about hoarding and more, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter @bioonebaltimore. If you know someone who hoards and need some help making their environment livable again, give us a call at 301.473.6733.