Compulsive Hoarding: When Do Excessive Collections Turn Dangerous?

Some of us just can't part with our favorite stack of sheet music, even though we haven't touched the piano since we graduated high school. Or those stuffed animals sitting in the corner of the closet, that with sentimental value, look at us whenever we're pulling out our winter wardrobe. In any case, that's all fine and dandy, but when do multiple groups of collection, however eccentric and harmless, cross over into hoarding?

Until the release of the new mental health manual, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-5) on May 22 considered hoarding to be part of obessessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the American Psychiatric Association task force behind the newest version of the manual has given the compulsion to excessively collect things without value its own diagnosis.

People with what is now known as hoarding disorder hang on to items, because they fear they will need them at some point in the future. They may also feel excessively attached to, or overvalue the worth of, these possessions.

As normal collections contain value, a hoarder sees no limit to the massive amounts of material they can contain, said Robin Rosenberg, a clinical psychologist and co-author of the psychology textbook "Abnormal Psychology" (Worth Publishers, 2009).

"A collector, in theory, will sell or cull a collection when they don't have enough room for all the objects," Rosenberg said, according to Live Science. "A hoarder will just fill the room, literally fill the room to the brim."

The amount of material collected can become dangerous as old papers, clothes and other materials can attract bugs, germs and cause fire hazards.

"It is often a little bit made fun of in films, but as an actual disorder it is not funny," Rosenberg said. "People can be really crippled by their inability to throw things away and it is a safety hazard."

OCD can manifest in behaviors such as repeated hand washing for fear of germs or checking locks over and over again to make certain they are locked. Those behind the revisions to the DSM-5 argue that available data don't show hoarding to be a symptom of OCD.

Some research shows hoarders tend to experience a different pattern of symptoms than people with OCD, and some brain imaging studies show hoarding disorder has a different neurobiology.

The elevation of hoarding to a distinct disorder is among the changes in the DSM-5 that have prompted concerns from critics about "diagnostic inflation" that they say will unnecessarily increase diagnoses of mental illness.

Here are 10 signs to watch out for if you fear a loved one or friend may be a hoarder.

1.)    They keep part of the home off-limits.

2.)    They talk endlessly about the stuff.

3.)    De-cluttering even a small area is a major job that would take more than a few hours or days.

4.)    They fail to pay the bills.

5.)    They're in debt because of compulsive shopping.

6.)    They have trouble finding things and resists storing things out of sight.

7.)    They put off repairs in the home.

8.)    They insist they meet you at your home or at an event.

9.)    Their garbage is overflowing and they rent one or more storage spaces.

10.) They will not let you touch or borrow their possessions.