Compulsive Hoarding Psychological Problem: Reasons and Treatment - Case Study Example

 Abstract Compulsive hoarding is a major psychological problem United State like countries are facing currently. It is a habit of collecting and keeping useless things for prolonged periods which create immense waste materials at home. These waste materials may create problems to the other family members and even the neighbors as well. The person who collect and keep such waste materials and even his family members doesn’t know that these people are the victims of a psychological problem called compulsive hoarding which prompted them to engage in such activities knowingly or unknowingly . This paper briefly explains the major characteristics of compulsive hoarding. Introduction “Hoarders are people who collect huge (and I mean huge) quantities of useless junk and refuse to part with it even when it gets in the way of living in the home. Hoarders often have stacks of stuff on appliances and stairways and desks and floors. It gets so bad that their homes turn into fire hazards, become infested with insects, and pose increased risk of falls”. (Elliott, Ph.D.). The term compulsive hoarding refers the human behavior of collecting objects or materials which they are afraid of getting decreased as time passes. Compulsive hoarding results in the collection of unwanted and useless items which the person might think of as significant ones in the future. Such unwanted materials may create lot of problems to the basic living activities like cooking, sleeping, showering, cleaning, toileting etc. “My dad was using portable urinals in the living room because my mother had blocked his access to the bathroom” said Elizabeth Nelson who was raised in an upper-middle class suburb (Science daily, 2009) Such stories are more common in most of the homes which are normally may not come out as people may not think harm in such things or people may not consider it as a disease. The compulsive collection and ownership of pets is another most common behavior of some of the persons who are affected by compulsive hoarding disorder. Nobody may not think or see anything extra ordinary in owing a variety of pet animals. But in reality accumulation of large number of pet animals is a disorder called compulsive hoarding which can be treated effectively. It's unclear how widespread hoarding is, since the problem often surfaces only after a neighbor's complaint or a medical emergency. “Randy Frost, a psychology professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., estimates that 2% to 3% of the population has OCD, and up to a third of those exhibit hoarding behavior” (Cohen, 2004). Compulsive hoarding People with compulsive hoarding may keep even water for prolonged periods because of the fear of shortage of such items in the future. For example, media reports or articles often point out the possible scarcity of drinking water in near future itself because of our activities of polluting the drinking water resources the major objective of such reports may be to educate the people to stay away from activities which pollute water sources. But the person with compulsive hoarding may collect and keep water for prolonged periods based on the above reports. Money is another thing which the people with compulsive hoarding disorder may keep for prolonged periods. The current economic crisis has created much worries and concerns in the minds of the common public and they might have realized the value of money right now. A normal person may analyze the current crisis as a normal phenomenon whereas a person with compulsory hoarding phobia may consider the same issue differently. He will react differently to the current economic crisis by trying to accumulate or save as much as money for the future. The debate over whether compulsive hoarding an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or not, is still going on among the psychologists because of the following reasons; Unlike most people with OCD, the majority of hoarders do not want help. This fact also happens to make them much more difficult to treat. Medication doesn’t work with Hoarding OCD nearly as well as it does for other types of OCD. People with Hoarding OCD seem to have certain cognitive deficits (like the ability to categorize and make decisions) that are not shared by people with other types of OCD. Hoarding OCD treatment typically takes much longer than other types of OCD treatment. Hoarding OCD is more prone to relapse than other types of OCD. (Elliott, Ph.D.) “Hoarding is most often associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which is an anxiety disorder. The anxiety is kept at bay as long as the compulsive saver avoids even thinking about throwing things out” (Hoarding & Clutter - is it OCD? If so, it's definitely a very different kind, 2009) Anxiety is a major symptom of hoarding disorder. Unnecessary worries and depressions are other symptoms of compulsive hoarding. These worries and anxieties may demonstrated by the person in the form of collecting and keeping useless objects for the future. Reasons for Compulsive hoarding The hoarding behavior is usually generated as a common response to fear. Political unrest, the situations like current economic crisis or natural catastrophes often forces people to think in terms of shortage of essential commodities in near future and they will try to keep everything irrespective its future usefulness or value. People who hoard often have a close relative who also has saving problems, but it's unclear whether this is the result of genetics of modeling (Hoarding & Clutter - is it OCD? If so, it's definitely a very different kind, 2009). The involvement of genetic factors for the hoarding behavior has not been proved yet. But the case studies of people who affected by compulsive hoarding problem show that some of the family members of the person also have same type of problems. So the possibility of involvement of genetics cannot be ruled out as a reason for this problem. Treatment of compulsive hoarding Coaches can help to sort and categorize, but the person with the hoarding problem should themselves make the decisions to discard (Hoarding & Clutter - is it OCD? If so, it's definitely a very different kind, 2009). Many of the patients with compulsive hoarding phobia are unaware of their mental problems. They will never consider it as a mental disorder. So making them aware of the problems of their behavior is the best way to treat this problem. They should undergo certain counseling sessions with a psychotherapist in order to know more about their problems and to get rid of it. As per Dr. Sanjaya Saxena, (Director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research Program at the University of California) hoarding behavior is found in people with anorexia which is a disordered characterized by problems with a need to control. It also is found in some cases of schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, and among some people with mental retardation, but still, that it is most often associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder”(Hoarding & Clutter - is it OCD? If so, it's definitely a very different kind, 2009) it is not necessary that the hoarding behavior always point towards compulsive hoarding problem. But it can associate with other diseases as well as mentioned by Dr. Saxena and hence only a psychiatrist/psychologist would be able to find out the exact reasons for the hoarding behavior. Identification of the reasons for the hoarding behavior is important in determining the treatment for the patient. It is not necessary that the, the same medications that are used to treat other manifestations of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) are effective in treating hoarding because of the association of hoarding behavior with so many other diseases. “Pharmacologically, Dr. Saxena says that for hoarding behavior, he often uses a COMBINATION of 1) a stimulant (such as Ritalin or Adderall) to sharpen attention 2) an anti-depressant - an SSRI like Zoloft or Prozac (Hoarding & Clutter - is it OCD? If so, it's definitely a very different kind, 2009) Conclusions Compulsive hoarding is a psychological disorder which forces people to collect and keep unwanted things in huge volumes causing problems to the family members and the neighbors. Unnecessary fear is considered as the major reason for this disorder even though heredity is also suspected as a reason. Compulsive hoarding can be treated effectively using medications and therapy. The person who has compulsive hoarding disorder must be educated about the consequences and reasons for his peculiar behavior in order to get rid of this problem. References 1. Cohen Joyce, (2004), Health and behavior, USA Today, Retrieved on 20 October 2009 http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-18-hoarding-usat_x.htm 2. Elliott Charles H., Ph.D.(2009), Hoarding OCD, Retrieved on 20 October 2009 from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/anxiety/2009/03/hoarding-ocd/ 3. Hoarding & Clutter - is it OCD? If so, it's definitely a very different kind, (2009), Retrieved on 20 October 2009 from http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread7270.html 4. Science daily, (2009), Compulsive Hoarding Poses Safety And Psychological Risks, Retrieved on 20 October 2009 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090309211632.htm Read More