Hoarding

Although the much-satirized image of a house overflowing with National Geographics and infested with cats may make us chuckle, the reality of compulsive hoarding is no laughing matter. The most common reason for evictions in the US and a significant risk factor for fatal house fires, compulsive hoarding is a treatable condition related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is characterized by the acquisition of possessions that have little or no value, which the sufferer, often referred to as the saver, has great difficulty discarding. This book, the first ever written for savers and their families, provides an overview of compulsive hoarding and how it relates to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It discusses hoarding broadly, offering readers perspectives on the physical, behavioral, and value-oriented aspects of the condition. You can use its assessment tools to help decide why you or your loved one hoards. Skill-building exercises help you determine how to beat the hoarding problem by addressing issues that often underlie compulsive saving. Even though this is fundamentally a self-help book, it contains a frank discussion about the need for professional help in some hoarding cases, how to find it, and what medications have been proven effective for savers.

The New York Times bestseller. “Gripping . . . By turns fascinating and heartbreaking . . . Stuff invites readers to reevaluate their desire for things.”—Boston Globe “Amazing . . . utterly engrossing . . . Read it.”—The Washington Post Book World What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper that’s ever come into his home? What compulsions drive a person to sacrifice her marriage or career for an accumulation of seemingly useless things? Randy Frost and Gail Steketee were the first to study hoarding when they began their work a decade ago. They didn’t expect that they would end up treating hundreds of patients and fielding thousands of calls from the families of hoarders. Their vivid case studies (reminiscent of Oliver Sacks) in Stuff show how you can identify a hoarder—piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, houses that can be navigated only by following small paths called goat trails, vast piles of paper that the hoarders “churn” but never discard, even collections of animals and garbage—and illuminate the pull that possessions exert over all of us. Whether we’re savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, very few of us are in fact free of the impulses that drive hoarders to extremes. “Authoritative, haunting, and mysterious. It is also intensely, not to say compulsively readable.”—Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author “Fascinating . . . a good mix of cultural and psychological theories on hoarding.”—Newsweek “Pioneering researchers offer a superb overview of a complex disorder that interferes with the lives of more than six-million Americans . . . An absorbing, gripping, important report.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In Digging Out, two psychologists who specialize in compulsive hoarding show readers with a friend or family member who hoards how to use harm reduction, a proven-effective model, to help their loved one live safely and comfortably in his or her own home and improve their relationship with the hoarder.

While most people find it relatively easy to manage their possessions, some find it extremely difficult. If you have a problem resisting the urge to acquire and you find your home cluttered and filled to capacity with items many people would find useless and unnecessary, you may suffer from a condition known as hoarding disorder. Hoarding is a behavioral problem consisting of clutter, difficulty discarding items, and excessive buying or acquiring. Hoarding is often associated with significant reduction in quality of life, and in extreme cases, it can pose serious health risks. If you or a loved one has hoarding disorder, this book can help. This fully updated Second Edition of Buried in Treasures outlines a scientifically based, effective program for helping those with hoarding disorder dig their way out of the clutter and chaos of their homes. Written by scientists and practitioners who are leaders in studying and treating hoarding disorder, this book outlines a program of skill-building, learning to think about possessions in a different way, and gradual challenges to help people manage their clutter and their lives. It also provides useful information for family and friends of people who hoard, as they struggle to understand and help. Discover the reasons for your problems with acquiring, saving, and hoarding, and learn new ways of thinking about your possessions so you can decide what you really need and what you can do without. Learn to identify the "bad guys" that cause and maintain your hoarding behavior and meet the "good guys" who can help motivate you and put you on the path to change. Useful self-assessments will help you determine the severity of your problem. Training exercises, case examples, organizing tips, and motivation boosters help change the way you think and behave toward your possessions. This book provides easy-to-understand strategies and techniques that anyone can use.

If you are living with, are close to, or are yourself someone who is hoarding, you'll know that the disorder goes far deeper than most people realise, affecting the whole family and presenting huge challenges to the physical, mental, emotional and even financial wellbeing of anyone involved. Jo Cooke is Director of one of the UK's leading support services for people affected by hoarding and clutter, and has written this sensitive and empathetic book to help anyone experiencing hoarding difficulties. She gives insight into Hoarding Disorder - explaining what it is and, importantly, what it isn't - and what may trigger hoarding. There are strategies for how to assess the scale of situation and lay the groundwork to address it, and insights into who can help and how they can do it. An 8 step-plan gives practical steps to tackle the hoarding, supported by suggestions for what to do with the 'stuff', and advice on safeguarding - as well as techniques to support the hoarder as they attempt to stay clutter-free. There is space in the book for individuals and their own stories of hoarding, giving an empowering voice to people affected by the condition, and replacing the morbid curiosity that often accompanies it. With plenty of information on resources and therapies that can help, this is a warm and hugely practical guide that can only help anyone affected in any way by hoarding.

The problem of compulsive hoarding and acquiring is more widespread than commonly believed. It often goes undiagnosed, either because sufferers are ashamed of their compulsions or because they dont believe it is a problem that merits professional attention. As much as two percent of the U.S. population suffers secretly from this condition. However, compulsive hoarding can be an emotionally exhausting, uncontrollable, and sometimes dangerous problem. Written by the developers of this groundbreaking treatment, this manual is the first to present an empirically supported and effective CBT program for treating compulsive hoarding and acquiring. This guide gives clinicians the information to understand hoarding and proven tools to help clients overcome their compulsive behaviors. It teaches individuals how to recognize errors in thinking and uses both imagined and real exposures to teach them the skills they need to manage their problem. Home visits by the clinician are a part of the treatment, as well as consultations with other professionals who might assist if necessary. Homework exercises include behavioral experiments to test personal beliefs about possessions, developing an organization plan and filing system, and sorting and organizing items room-by-room. Designed to be used in conjunction with the corresponding workbook, this therapist guide provides numerous assessment and intervention forms to help clients use the methods described in this program. Complete with case examples and strategies for dealing with problems, this user-friendly guide is a dependable resource that no clinician can do without. TreatmentsThatWorkTM represents the gold standard of behavioral healthcare interventions! · All programs have been rigorously tested in clinical trials and are backed by years of research · A prestigious scientific advisory board, led by series Editor-In-Chief David H. Barlow, reviews and evaluates each intervention to ensure that it meets the highest standard of evidence so you can be confident that you are using the most effective treatment available to date · Our books are reliable and effective and make it easy for you to provide your clients with the best care available · Our corresponding workbooks contain psychoeducational information, forms and worksheets, and homework assignments to keep clients engaged and motivated · A companion website (www.oup.com/us/ttw) offers downloadable clinical tools and helpful resources · Continuing Education (CE) Credits are now available on select titles in collaboration with PsychoEducational Resources, Inc. (PER)

Hoarding disorder is the excessive saving of objects and difficulty parting with them to a point that interferes with one's ability to properly use rooms and furnishings in the home. Hoarding can become dangerous, sometimes resulting in structural problems and fires, or in hazardous sanitary conditions. Studies indicate that around one in every 25 people suffers from hoarding. This means that almost all of us know someone who hoards. Hoarding: What Everyone Needs to Know® demystifies this complex problem, what it looks like and why it may develop, and how it can be treated. With their combined expertise in psychological treatments for hoarding and community interventions, Drs. Steketee and Bratiotis explain how to understand hoarding as a mental illness, describing the disorder in layman's terms and explaining the various facets and manifestations of the behavior. Chapters focus on one or more common questions regarding diagnosis, features, how to assess severity, and treatment. The book will dispel myths and help readers identify hoarding that touches their own lives. As such it will be of great value not only to those who suspect a loved one may be hoarding, but also to first responders, such as firefighters, public health officials, and housing and social service personnel, who will find here an essential resource for use in the field.

A fascinating look at compulsive hoarding by a woman whose mother suffers from the disease. To be the child of a compulsive hoarder is to live in a permanent state of unease. Because if my mother is one of those crazy junk-house people, then what does that make me? When her divorced mother was diagnosed with cancer, New York City writer Jessie Sholl returned to her hometown of Minneapolis to help her prepare for her upcoming surgery and get her affairs in order. While a daunting task for any adult dealing with an aging parent, it’s compounded for Sholl by one lifelong, complex, and confounding truth: her mother is a compulsive hoarder. Dirty Secret is a daughter’s powerful memoir of confronting her mother’s disorder, of searching for the normalcy that was never hers as a child, and, finally, cleaning out the clutter of her mother’s home in the hopes of salvaging the true heart of their relationship—before it’s too late. Growing up, young Jessie knew her mother wasn’t like other mothers: chronically disorganized, she might forgo picking Jessie up from kindergarten to spend the afternoon thrift store shopping. Now, tracing the downward spiral in her mother’s hoarding behavior to the death of a long-time boyfriend, she bravely wades into a pathological sea of stuff: broken appliances, moldy cowboy boots, twenty identical pairs of graying bargain-bin sneakers, abandoned arts and crafts, newspapers, magazines, a dresser drawer crammed with discarded eyeglasses, shovelfuls of junk mail . . . the things that become a hoarder’s “treasures.” With candor, wit, and not a drop of sentimentality, Jessie Sholl explores the many personal and psychological ramifications of hoarding while telling an unforgettable mother-daughter tale.