Hoarding
While many people collect items, hoarding is different. It is a mental health condition that usually involves a strong emotional attachment to your belongings, making it extremely difficult to let them go, even when they have little value.
Over time, hoarding can lead to an excessive accumulation of items, causing severe clutter and blocked living spaces. This type of hoarding, known as object hoarding, is the most common form, though some people may also hoard animals or digital data.
Hoarding is estimated to affect between 2-5% of people in the UK, yet only a fraction of these individuals are known to professionals. This may be because many people who hoard are socially isolated or experience feeling ashamed, embarrassed, or protective of their homes and so are reluctant to seek help.
Common myths about hoarding
Hoarding and being disorganised are the same thing
While both involve clutter, hoarding and disorganisation are different. Hoarding is a mental health condition linked to anxiety and strong attachments to possessions, whereas disorganisation usually comes from challenges with habits, time or priorities.
Hoarding means you are lazy and unhygienic
This myth assumes that a cluttered space reflects laziness or poor hygiene. In reality, hoarding behaviours are usually linked untreated mental health challenges, not personal faults.
Just throwing things away will cure hoarding behaviour
Forcing a clean out does not address the underlying reasons someone struggles to part with their belongings. Without tackling the root cause, there is a high chance the hoarding behaviours can return.
Is hoarding a mental health condition?
Recognition of hoarding as a mental health condition is still quite recent, having only been officially classified in 2018. It involves more than simply just keeping ‘too much stuff’ and can be problematic when:
- Clutter interferes with everyday life: Everyday tasks and activities are made more challenging due to the hoarding. An example could be that a person can no longer use their kitchen, bathroom or entire rooms within their household due to the clutter.
- It causes serious emotional distress or reduces wellbeing: For example, the person becomes distressed or agitated when others try to help, which may put a strain on important relationships.
Hoarding is a mental health condition. It can also develop because of other mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression or trauma. It is more commonly seen in individuals who may be vulnerable, such as those who are older, single, unemployed, experiencing financial hardship or living with physical or cognitive challenges.
Symptoms of hoarding
While hoarding can look different for everyone, common signs include:
- Becoming significantly attached to belongings
- Collecting a number of things and objects to the point that it impacts your daily life, such as blocking living areas
- Having a strong urge to collect more things, despite having no space to store them
- Significant distress or difficulty getting rid of items, even those with no clear value
Are there different types of hoarding?
Many people picture hoarding as collecting lots of physical items, but it can take many other forms and look different for each person.
Animal hoarding
Animal hoarding occurs when a person acquires more animals than they can properly care for, often without recognising the harm it can cause. This may include neglecting animals’ basic needs, such as food and shelter. It’s defined by the inability to provide adequate care, not the number of animals, and is becoming an increasingly important public health concern in the UK.
Data hoarding
Digital hoarding occurs when you make and keep a larger number of digital files. This could be emails, text messages, photos, videos or documents. Recent studies show that people can form strong attachments to digital items, with patterns similar to other types of hoarding. As technology grows, so does its impact on our mental health. To learn more about how technology can affect your mental health, read our guide here.
How can hoarding impact mental health?
Hoarding can take a significant toll on your mental health. Here are some ways it may impact your wellbeing:
1. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Hoarding can sometimes occur as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), driven by intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. Fears of harm, contamination or making the ‘wrong decision can make discarding items distressing. While hoarding was previously considered as part of OCD, it is now recognised as a separate condition that can co-occur with it.
2. Anxiety and depression
Mental health challenges frequently co-occur with hoarding disorder. Studies show that up to two-thirds of individuals who hoard also experience depression and anxiety. Addressing these mental health conditions is often an important part of treatment and recovery.
3. Schizophrenia and psychosis
Hoarding tendencies may be related to underlying psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. Research shows that in there individuals, hoarding often starts early in life and can help them cope with feeling disconnected from themselves. Keeping belongings may provide comfort, a sense stability and help them feel more grounded. However, this comfort is only short term, as over time it may make psychotic symptoms more complex to manage by increasing isolation and self-neglect.
4. Isolation
People who hoard often experience shame and fear of judgement, which can lead to withdrawal from friends, family and social activities. Stigma around hoarding can discourage individuals from seeking help and may reinforce the loneliness felt.
5. Trauma
Many individuals with hoarding disorder have histories of trauma, loss or significant life stressors. Hoarding behaviours may serve as coping mechanisms for overwhelming emotional experiences.
6. Suicidal thoughts
Over 1 in 4 people with hoarding disorder experience suicidal thoughts. The emotional burden of hoarding, including isolation, strained relationships and other coexisting mental health conditions can feel overwhelming and lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair.
7. Physical health
Cluttered living spaces can pose serious safety hazards for your physical health, including trips and falls, injuries and unhygienic conditions – the latter of which could be spoiled food or pest infestations. Additionally, those who hoard are more likely to experience conditions such, such as diabetes and chronic pain, both of which can exacerbate mental health conditions and hoarding tendencies.
Tips for managing hoarding
If you think you might be hoarding, here are some practical ways that can help you manage it:
1. Acknowledge the Impact: Recognising that hoarding is interfering with your life, relationships and wellbeing are the first step on the road to recovery. It means you’re ready to reflect and maybe take action, even if the idea feels overwhelming and daunting. It’s important that you do it at your own pace. Taking small steps will lead to improvements in your wellbeing over time.
2. Seek Professional Support: You don’t have to do this alone. Many professionals understand hoarding and can work with you to address what you are going through. Helpful first steps can include talking with your local GP and talking to a therapist.
3. Talk to Someone You Trust: If possible, open up to someone. Just saying “I’m struggling with letting go of things and it’s affecting my life” can relieve some of the emotional pressure.
4. Find Peer Support Groups: Talking to people with similar experiences can feel easier and less judgemental. Peer support can help reduce feelings of shame or guilt and provide understanding and validation. See the bottom of this page for more details on peer support groups for hoarding in Scotland.
How can I support someone who hoards?
Supporting someone who has mental health issues, including hoarding, can be challenging, but sometimes just your presence is enough. Below are some small things you can do to help:
1. Be present and patient: Often, people who hoard feel ashamed, overwhelmed or afraid to ask for help. Simply showing up, listening, offering your time or just being there is enough.
2. Avoid forced cleanouts: Forced ‘deep cleans’ often backfire. It is estimated that 97% of individuals with hoarding disorder relapse after a non-consensual cleanout and many experience trauma, anxiety or worsening hoarding as a result.
3. Listen without judgement: Hoarding is deeply stigmatised. People who hoard are often aware that their environment causes distress, but criticism or ‘just throw it away’ advice may shut down trust.
Here are some questions you can use, which may help them open up:
- “Would you like to tell me more about this item?”
- “What feels hard about parting with this?”
- “Is there anything you’d like support with right now?”
4. Support them in getting help: Hoarding is a complex issue and often requires a coordinated, multi-agency response.
You can help by:
- Encouraging or helping them access mental health support. You can find out more about the support delivered by Change Mental Health here.
- Reaching out to housing associations, social care or community-based decluttering services.
- Assisting with appointments, paperwork or transportation if needed.
support
Our National Advice and Support Service can help you and people you care for with mental health concerns and money worries.
We can link and signpost you to relevant local and national support, including our own Change Mental Health services, as well supporting with debt, grants and benefits.
The service is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm (closed for lunch between 12.30pm to 1.30pm). Contact 0808 8010 515, email advice@changemh.org or fill in the form on the service webpage.
For full details about the service, visit the National Advice and Support Service webpage.
Other support
Glasgow based and online meet-up giving peer support, encouragement and inspiration for dealing with life’s material clutter.
Email clutterchat@gmail.com for details on how to attend the groups.
Hoarding Disorders UK is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company with the aim to provide practical hands-on support, as well as expert advice to those affected by hoarding.
They hold Tuesday and Thursday online peer support groups. Anyone affected by hoarding or who knows someone who hoards is welcome to attend a support and advice group. Email info@hoardingdisordersuk.org or call 0330 133 2310 for more details on how to attend.
They provide advice, advocacy services, training and online group support sessions. You can get in contact with them to get help using this form.
Housing Options Scotland help disabled people, older adults and members of the Armed Forces community to find their right home in the right place. They can provide practical support for those with hoarding disorder to thrive in their home.
You can use this form and will be contacted within six weeks by one of the expert Housing Options Brokers. They will be able to give you information and expert advice that is tailored to you.
