According to the television show "Hoarders" more than 3 million people are compulsive hoarders. Compulsive hoarding is a mental disorder.
According to Mayo Clinic, hoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with inability to discard them. Hoarding often creates such cramped living conditions that homes may be filled to capacity, with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Some people also collect animals, keeping dozens or hundreds of pets often in unsanitary conditions.
Hoarding, also called compulsive hoarding and complusive hoarding syndrome, may be a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder. But many people who hoard don't have other OCD-related symptoms.
People who hoard often don't see it as a problem, making treatment challenging. But intense treatment can help people who hoard understand their complusions and live safer, more enjoyable lives.
If you are a hoarder or know someone who is a hoarder contact a mental health agency in the Detroit area.
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