Traits of a Compulsive Hoarder
Compulsive hoarding is a complex psychological condition that impacts not just the individual, but also their family, friends, and community. Understanding the traits of a compulsive hoarder is essential in offering the right support. These traits are often misunderstood or overlooked, but they provide insight into why hoarding behaviors develop and persist. Below, we’ll examine the common traits of compulsive hoarders to help shed light on the underlying factors at play.
Highlights
- Discover the emotional attachment hoarders have to their possessions and why they assign excessive value to items.
- Learn about the challenges hoarders face when making decisions and how it affects their ability to discard items.
- Recognize the connection between compulsive hoarding and mental health issues, such as separation anxiety and social isolation.
What traits do compulsive hoarders have?
An interesting fact is to know what are the characteristics of people who suffer from this disorder. We can summarize them in as follows:
- Give excessive importance to objects and things. Their relationship with things is exaggerated, exorbitant.
- The objects they hoard are not necessary, but they value them as if they were.
- They have the perception that objects have an extraordinary value, a value that objectively they don’t have.
- They have difficulty in making decisions, the main one being: “I throw it or I don’t throw it?”.
- This behavior is usually related to lonely people, who tend to isolate themselves.
- Deep down they know that it is inappropriate behavior, so they tend to hide from others to be able to hoard privately.
- They are insecure people and generally have low self-esteem, which leads them to think that the more objects there are around them, the more sheltered they will feel and, therefore, more protected.
- Their behavior is related to separation anxiety disorder. Thinking about getting rid of an object generates anxiety or guilt, and even extreme indecision.
- They exaggerate the theory of recycling.
- In some cases, neighbour’s have noticed their excessive storage behavior, even having endangered their health or that of others.
As mentioned, these are the common traits of a hoarder. If you know someone who suffers from this disorder, contact us. We are a team of compassionate professionals who regularly helps with hoarding situations. You can contact us by clicking here or by phone at 1-855-468-2588 (855.GOT.CLUTTER)
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