Media Handout - Hoarding Disorder

Media Handout - Hoarding Disorder The Hoarding Project MN Hoarding Task Force, Chair: Janet Yeats – [email protected] King and Pierce Counties Hoarding Task Force, Chair: Jennifer Sampson - [email protected] Janet and Jennifer are available for radio, TV and print interviews (see attached bios)

FAQ: What is compulsive hoarding? The common definition has 4 parts: Excessive acquisition of stuff Difficulty discarding possessions Living spaces that can’t be used for their intended purposes because of clutter Causing significant distress or impairment

FAQ: What’s the difference between clutter, collecting, and hoarding? Clutter: possessions are disorganized and may be accumulated around living areas, no major difficulty with excessive acquisition AND no major difficulty discarding items. Can carry on normal activities in home Collecting: new possessions = part of larger set of items, display does not impede active living areas in home. Hoarding: possessions become unorganized piles of clutter and prevent rooms from being used for normal activities. The motivation to display items is lost.

FAQ: How many people hoard? Prevalence is approximately 2-5% of the population, approximately 15.7 million people in the United States, and hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians who hoard, not to mention their families and communities who are also impacted by hoarding behaviors.

FAQ: Are some people more likely to hoard than others? It is hard to say - research is limited - but experience tells us that men and women hoard, young and old, and people with low incomes as well as high incomes.

FAQ: What causes hoarding? There are a number of factors that contribute to hoarding behaviors. Biological factors such as brain functioning deficits, psychological factors such as unresolved trauma and loss, social factors such as growing up in a hoarded home.

FAQ: Is hoarding really just OCD? Only about 30-40% of people who hoard actually show other symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Hoarding Disorder is likely a standalone. Hoarding Disorder is also associated with lots of other mental health issues: Depression- <53% Anxiety- <24% ADHD- <20% Impulsivity- Personality Disorders- <29% Organic Brain Illness- <31%