Posted on 02/28/2022 8:16:51 AM PST by Red Badger
Many of us may find we have acquired too many possessions that clutter our living spaces, but refuse to part with things "in case we might need them".
Although having too much stuff is something many of us can relate to, for some people, a persistent difficulty parting with possessions can become a problem: hoarding. When these tendencies significantly impair somebody's quality of life, this leads to a condition called hoarding disorder.
Curiously, understanding how hoarding manifests and how it relates to other difficulties in everyday life has not received much attention until recently. Only in 2013 was hoarding disorder officially recognized in the DSM-5 (the American Psychiatric Association's manual for assessing and diagnosing mental health conditions), and its key characteristics agreed upon.
In a recent study, we found people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a significantly higher frequency of hoarding symptoms compared to the general population. This indicates that hoarding should be routinely assessed in those with ADHD.
Hoarding disorder is characterized by persistent difficulties discarding items, regardless of their actual value. This results in excessive accumulation of possessions that clutter living areas and compromise their intended use. Hoarding disorder leads to major distress and problems in socializing, work and other areas of daily functioning.
Anecdotally we know participants in hoarding research often report problems with attention, with many believing that they should have received a diagnosis of ADHD. Indeed, evidence does indicate that people with hoarding disorder experience greater problems with attention compared to others.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, with one of its key characteristics being problems with attention. "Inattention" encompasses issues with concentrating, but also considerable difficulties with organization, forgetfulness, procrastination and being easily distracted to a degree that impairs everyday functioning.
If there is a link between hoarding and inattention, then what about people with ADHD? Do they have more hoarding problems than most?
Our study We asked all patients in an adult ADHD clinic in the UK to complete a series of questionnaires about their traits and behaviors including hoarding. We had 88 people, one-third of the patients, take part. A control group with similar age, gender and education characteristics who did not have ADHD answered the same questions.
Using three different questionnaires, we applied thresholds previously established by hoarding researchers and clinicians to indicate hoarding disorder. Some 20 percent of participants with ADHD reported clinically significant hoarding symptoms, versus 2 percent in the comparison group (close to the 2.5 percent prevalence of hoarding disorder in the population).
Hoarding was roughly as common across both genders, with patients who exhibited hoarding symptoms aged on average in their 30s. Clinically significant hoarding in ADHD patients was associated with poorer quality of life and higher depression and anxiety.
People with ADHD who scored below the threshold for hoarding disorder still reported considerably greater issues with hoarding compared to the control group. Further, those with more severe attention problems were more likely to report problems with hoarding.
Even if not suffering from either ADHD or hoarding disorder, many people will relate to the difficulties characteristic of these conditions, demonstrating that symptoms exist along a continuum in the population.
We therefore reran the study online in 220 UK participants, finding this time that 3.6 percent scored above the threshold, and that there was again a strong link between inattention and hoarding.
The findings from our study, which we understand is the first to examine hoarding in adult ADHD patients, suggest that people with ADHD should be routinely assessed for hoarding symptoms – particularly given the limited awareness around any impairments associated with hoarding.
While patients did not spontaneously raise hoarding-related issues in the clinic, they did endorse them once explicitly raised in our study.
Research gaps A limitation of our study is that hoarding symptoms were investigated with self-reported questionnaires. Future studies should replicate the findings with trained clinical staff assessing hoarding through interviews. Future research should also investigate why this association between ADHD and hoarding disorder exists.
More generally, one challenge to understanding hoarding and providing effective treatment is that many of those who suffer from hoarding disorder have limited insight. This means they don't necessarily recognize or accept that they are suffering from a mental health condition, or that they have a problem at all.
Research on hoarding disorder has tended to focus on people who do come forward or those noticed by health and social care systems. Time and again studies describe samples of predominantly female participants in their late 50s.
But these participants tell of severe hoarding beginning much earlier in life, often by one's 20s. In addition, indirect evidence from demographic studies suggests that hoarding is evenly split across genders.
The evidence from our study indicates that our understanding of hoarding may be enriched by targeting these younger people with ADHD and hoarding to get a fuller understanding of their symptoms. This could ultimately support more effective interventions and treatments in both ADHD and hoarding disorder, and help illuminate the link between the two.
Sharon Morein, Associate Professor in Psychology and Mental Health, Anglia Ruskin University.
I recommend printing out at least two copies of it.
Most adults don’t have the H part. I know a few people with ADD, diagnosed by people trained in diagnosing it. They are pretty clear about the differences.
If you think that highly focused in not related to ADD, you might want to read up on it. Hyper focus is a key part if the diagnosis. Adults with ADD are not the kids in school who couldn’t sit still. In fact the ability to hyper focus lends itself to being quite successful in life.
I’ve had similar conversations with mr. mm.
I am going through my stuff with a mind of whether I really need it or not or if I do keep it and leave it, if any of the kids want it.
And that is what the medical establishment recommends when you are pregnant.
That is because he has old media equipment and it is next to impossible to find the old connectors. So he cobbles them together from old bits and pieces.
Oldest is starting to collect tools but since he is learning how to refurbish old tractors it is allowed.
Most books are kept.... stuffed toys.... blankets...
You know, I am going to have to stop allowing them to keep so much stuff!
Oh, Yes! The junk REALLY accumulates when you have kids underfoot. Been there, done that!
I got my boys in the habit of going through their things; books, clothing, old toys, etc. on a yearly basis and I would take it all to St. Vincent’s if it was still in good repair. (And, of course, keep the donation receipts for taxes!)
Hopefully I showed them two things: How BLESSED they were to have so much stuff to begin with, and how being GENEROUS and giving to those in need was A Good Thing.
With Beau, I always equate it to a $$$ amount spent on ‘stuff’ or that he could GAIN by selling said ‘stuff’ or taking it to the scrap yard. That seems to be his hot-button motivator to get his rear in gear, LOL!
The point of this is to accomplish “othering” of those of us who prepare for disasters. When the “Biden” economy completely collapses and food becomes hard to find in the cities, the media will likely demonize us further and encourage the elites’ thugs to hunt us down and take our stuff.
At that point, there won’t be any ‘media’..............................
Box method maybe. If it fits you can keep it, if not it goes. I have some nice wooden toy boxes that would work.
And your sib will have less reason to come to me complaining about, "their stuff is ALL over the room! Make them clean it up!"
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