Just about everyone knows a person that suffers from hoarding. Hoarding is the excessive attachment to stuff where a person ends up being unable to throw things away. Over time, the accumulation of objects becomes overbearing in two ways : their sheer physical presence clutters a house or home to the point of becoming a health hazard through neglect, dirtiness, obstruction and so on just as mentally, past a certain point in this compulsive collecting, the hoarder loses the ability to effect choices regarding things to let go of! This definition runs slightly contrary to some recognized medical ones and yet I stand by it as it relates to a set of feelings that in my opinion play a big role in hoarding.
In order to make my interpretation of this phenomenon clear, I will start with the “normal” type of hoarding found in animals and go on to offer the recent positions of classical certified medical researchers on it before presenting my own views.
Animals hoard for two basic reasons. Either they do so to prepare for periods of scarcity or they attempt to collect enough to cover all foreseeable eventualities. If the first case is clear and recorded, the best example of the second would be squirrels. Yes, to begin with, squirrels amass food for the winter months but on top of that, they overdo it because they tend to forget their caches. Not only does that force them to hide more food but the fact of looking for hidden treasures actually mean that a squirrel is liable to “involuntarily” pillage the reserves of another member of its species. More or less involuntarily, as they just consider any treasure as theirs for not remembering their own is also not a source of worry to them? And yet, at least one species is known to collect stuff that has no survival value, namely the magpie?
These birds are famous for “stealing” and keep stuff ( most often shiny objects ) about as hobby collectors do.
In humans, the most cited links to hoarding are depression or OCD ( obsessive compulsory disorders ) and an inability to make decisions as regards the choices that lead to discarding things.
In a 2012 Time article on the subject however, an autism specialist asked to give an opinion on this last condition said something interesting. Talking of the heightened necessity or awareness towards the decision making process involved in throwing away stuff, Dr Eric Hollander commenting on the research of David Tolin from the Institute of Living whose link is available at the end of this Post, he said that the hoarders end up concentrating too much on that specific decision making to the point that it became central to their existence to the exclusion of other activities and termed that : “Their lives are getting smaller and smaller”.
I do not doubt the understanding of either of them but sincerely believe that they are talking about a consequence of the initial causes of this issue, a secondary mechanism if you will. How, not why? To prove that assertion, let me add that beyond the information processing defect, hoarding is also though to stem from belief in the given value of possessions and emotional anxiety or distress linked to owning or losing stuff which they try to avoid by not making a decision. ( Also from the Inst. of Living link below ). So that I would offer small inversions and modifications to that list by putting belief in possessions first but only as a marker of belief about the self that is reflected and creates emotional distress which then muddles the decision making or engenders the imbalance in information processing if you will.
Statements :
In all the causes given below, the word loss would be the more appropriate clinical term in lieu of disappearance; please excuse the writer’s ways herein.
Disappearance of trust.
The simplest cause of hoarding is a scarcity of magnitude suffered especially in early life. The Great Depression, war, possibly divorce in some cases can bring a person to remain branded with the idea that wealth or abundance does not last. The value of possessions, any possession or almost is thus abnormally multiplied. Of course, this is coupled to a propensity of mindset. Not all that suffered from the Great Depression will become hoarders. Many will instead become more determined to find ways to ensure their well-being that resist time instead. I surmise that a study of hoarding as a family trait would confirm or infer this as it would in my idea be slightly but statistically more common amongst siblings than overall.
Disappearance of value(s).
A second cause of hoarding is indeed the belief that some things are losing their value in a given individual. The best example of this that I trust that I could understand myself would be books. Books carry two important values. Over time, books are rare things in the History of humankind. The written word is a new invention over the length of our species existence. Few written words last over time. And the general accessibility to them is an even more recent thing; Gutenberg’s invention is less than 600 years old after all? Then two opposing factors appeared in the last century. First, on account of the Industrial Revolution, books became cheaper yes but at the same time, anyone or almost could be published. Second, the Internet and other electronic means are now suspected of possibly making books less central to the transmission of knowledge.
With that example, we can find a duality in loss. Book lovers have always had a tendency to hoarding. From libraries to individuals, books are a classic example of orderly hoarding? The value of the knowledge they contain is notably “over”valued by those who care for them? ( Or undervalued by the rest in my opinion which is why I understand and chose that example )
Of course, in a more material manner, the idea that the book is at risk in the near future brings about a more classical form of hoarding as some amateurs are likely to transfer the value of knowledge itself to the object and end up collecting just about any book! The philosophical and essential values merge?
Disappearance of self.
The third and likely most important cause of hoarding is the loss of self. This is the most common condition of humanity. It is a consequence of free will and the ability to think, suppose, project oneself and theorize. It explains despair and suicide, achieving, hoping, excessive and unnecessary violence, loving another human being outside of reproduction, etc, etc ,etc. In those that carry it beyond strict metaphysical markers ( especially if they cannot identify the process by themselves ) it brings about distress of the soul. This in turn is normally solved by relativizing.
To those that for any reason cannot, the solution is to despise themselves to a degree or another.
And that despise is most simply alleviated by transfer. Whatever you personally ( believe you )lack is sub-contracted. You do not feel a good person but your bank account says you are? Or your car or your trophy wife/husband, etc etc …
For hoarders, their self is transfered into their things? They end up not being able to give up that useless gadget anymore than you could give up your left leg? Of course, they feel distressed about letting go of their stuff? Their own worth is invested into that stuff, which is of course worthless itself, because after all they are hoarders and not mad and can operate meaningful ( if sad ) transfers?
[ By the way, some ( Hum! Most? ) of us collect useless thoughts and beliefs we can’t let go of either so who are we to judge? 😉 ]
All might be fine if things were simple which they are not as lucid people know. As such hoarders are made of the combination of all of our above causes. They transfer their loss of self to their mistrust of the future and/or their belief in values? So that identifying a type beyond lifelong therapy is borderline hopeless.
From that gloomy painting of hoarding, we can still deduct how to treat them however. Contempt will not help, that’s a given but here’s what might :
Do not disrespect the habit but allow yourself to identify specific junk?
Limit yourself to pointing out things that almost everyone would agree as useless and do not comment on the rest.
Suggest possible improvements as accomplishments. Help your hoarder clear a path from the kitchen or bedroom to the door and even if you did 85% of the work, congratulate them for that autonomous achievement? Over and over with every visit as long as it lasts and then help them again?
Disregard the disorder and acknowledge the person?
They need the recognition more than you do. Make light of the problem but extoll the individual.
They need the recognition while you don’t … since you’ll have truly earned it anyhow?
And last but not least, thank them for every improvement?
Peace out, Tay.
http://www.harthosp.org/InstituteOfLiving/AnxietyDisordersCenter/CompulsiveHoarding/default.aspx
Definitive Lapse of Reason 
TY’ Sukaina! Have a great day, Tay.