Help for People Who Hoard

Studies show that as many as 15 million Americans are compulsive hoarders. Denise Egan Stack and Erica Woods of the Cape Cod Hoarding Task Force talk about hoarding and efforts to work collaboratively to address the issue.  Hoarding disorder is characterized by the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of the value others may attribute to these possessions. For individuals who hoard, the quantity of their collected items sets them apart from people with normal collecting behaviors. They accumulate a large number of possessions that often fill up or clutter active living areas of the home or workplace to the extent that their intended use is no longer possible. While some people who hoard may not be particularly distressed by their behavior, their behavior can be distressing to other people, such as family members or landlords.