{"id":5491,"date":"2019-11-05T22:41:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T22:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=5491"},"modified":"2019-11-05T22:41:52","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T22:41:52","slug":"hoarding-disorder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/hoarding-disorder\/","title":{"rendered":"Hoarding Disorder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hoarding-clutter.jpg\" alt=\"Living area of someone with Hoarding Disorder\" class=\"wp-image-5492\" width=\"232\" height=\"154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hoarding-clutter.jpg 724w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hoarding-clutter-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/hoarding-clutter-451x300.jpg 451w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Hoarding disorder (HD) is a mental health condition\ncharacterized by the inability to part with or throw away items due to a\nperceived need to save them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People diagnosed with HD accumulate an excessive amount of\npossessions regardless of value. Unlike collectors who collect specific types\nof items such as model cars, those who hoard acquire random items that are\noften useless or of little value to most people such as paper bags. This\nacquisition often results in disorganized piles of objects overcrowding living spaces.\nSome people who hoard may also begin to acquire living things such as animals,\nresulting in unsanitary living conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common reasons why people who hoard accumulate these\npossessions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Not wanting to be wasteful and believing&nbsp; items will be needed in the future <\/li><li>Feeling safe when surrounded by items<\/li><li>Holding on to items perceived to have emotional\nsignificance<\/li><li>Believing&nbsp;\ntheir items are unique <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms of hoarding typically begin to present during an\nindividual\u2019s early teenage years, the average onset is 13 years old. &nbsp;As a person ages, symptoms often become more\nsevere. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, symptoms\ncan include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Severe anxiety when attempting to discard items<\/li><li>Great difficulty categorizing or organizing\npossessions<\/li><li>Distress, such as feeling overwhelmed or\nembarrassed by possessions<\/li><li>Suspicion of other people touching items<\/li><li>Obsessive thoughts and actions: fear of running\nout of an item or of needing it in the future; checking the trash for\naccidentally discarded objects<\/li><li>Functional impairments, including loss of living\nspace, social isolation, family or marital discord, financial difficulties,\nhealth hazards<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the cause of hoarding disorder is unknown,&nbsp; &nbsp;there\nare several factors that put some at risk of developing this condition more\nthan others. &nbsp;The risk factors include\nhaving a family history of HD, encountering stressful or traumatic life events,\nhaving an indecisive personality, receiving brain injuries or experiencing material\ndeprivation such as childhood poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those living with hoarding disorder are often likely to have\nother mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive\ndisorder (OCD), attention deficit \/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or alcohol use\ndisorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People with hoarding disorder typically do not recognize\nhoarding as a problem; therefore, many do not seek the help they need.&nbsp; Hoarding disorder is often identified when\nindividuals seek treatment for other mental health conditions or when loved\nones or local health departments intervene. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hoarding disorder is diagnosed by performing a psychological\nexamination. The most common form of therapy used to treat hoarding disorder is\ncognitive behavioral therapy. &nbsp;This kind\nof therapy helps individuals to become aware of harmful thought and behavioral\npatterns, and develop new strategies to engage in healthier ways of thinking\nand behaving. Treatment of HD may also involve learning organizational and\ndecision making skills, as well as medication therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you or someone you know are experiencing symptoms of hoarding disorder and would like to receive assistance from a <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/clinical-services\/mental-health-services\">mental health professional<\/a> at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-670-5562.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hoarding disorder (HD) is a mental health condition characterized by the inability to part with or throw away items due to a perceived need to save them. People diagnosed with HD accumulate an excessive amount of possessions regardless of value. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/hoarding-disorder\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[474],"tags":[1890,1889],"class_list":["post-5491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health","tag-hoarding","tag-hoarding-disorder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5491"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5493,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5491\/revisions\/5493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}