Hoarders have an emotional attachment to their possessions, often due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the main treatment, helping hoarders give up items and deal with anxiety. Trigger events, such as loss, can also cause hoarding tendencies.
It’s not entirely clear what causes the buildup, although it’s thought to have something to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain, just like many other personality and mental disorders. Hoarders often have an unusually strong emotional attachment to their possessions. Sometimes this stems from a loss, feelings of emptiness, or past experiences of not having enough of something. This can cause the person to fanatically pick up new things to fill a void or refuse to throw old things away.
The main factor causing the buildup, according to most theories, is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Each person has certain chemicals that are released to create certain reactions in the body. A chemical can respond to good things happening and create a “feel good” response. Other chemicals, such as adrenaline, can come on in response to danger and cause changes in the body such as fear, rapid heart rate, and increased sense of alertness. These chemicals have purposes, such as creating a bond between people or allowing a person to escape from danger.
Hoarding and other mental disorders occur when these chemicals are released at inappropriate times or in the wrong amounts. For example, the average person may feel a little sad about having to throw away a valuable item. Someone hoarding things, however, will feel incredibly anxious or may fear something bad will happen without the item.
While chemicals are part of the problem causing the buildup, there are other causes to consider. Many people have a trigger event that brings out hoarding tendencies. For example, someone who has lost a family member may begin obsessively collecting items that remind them of their loved one. These could be various versions of the person’s pet or favorite toy, such as teddy bears or porcelain dolls. Many hoarders have various collections of specific items, along with large quantities of additional unrelated items.
Hoarders may or may not realize that their collections are excessive. Even when their homes run out of room to walk, eat, or sleep, many hoarders still insist there’s no problem. Others understand the extent of their problem, but feel powerless to solve it.
The main treatment for compulsive hoarding is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It’s not enough to simply remove items from a hoarder’s possession, because he will inevitably go out and buy more things to replace them. Many sufferers of this condition experience overwhelming anxiety at the thought of losing their belongings, and dealing with this anxiety is often the key to staying well.
Therapy can help hoarders slowly give up items that have no value, such as old newspapers or trash. Eventually, they may be willing to get rid of more valuable items by donating them or gifting them to someone close. Finally, once anxiety is lessened by taking these smaller steps, hoarders may be able to scale their stuff down to a reasonable level.
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