How To Tell If You Are A Hoarder

Decreased Socialization

Hoarders may feel embarrassed about their situation, which can cause them to eventually turn away from friends and even close family members in an attempt to hide their problem. A person who hoards may stop inviting friends over to their home and children of hoarders may do the same for fear of being embarrassed or confronted by their friends. Hoarding has long been associated with unsanitary conditions, which makes it embarrassing for the hoarder to have people over to their home as it is not clean. It is crucial to note, however, the decreased socialization and ultimate isolation hoarders exhibit may not appear overnight. It can be a slower process, which can sometimes make it harder for others to detect before it has progressed quite far.

Continue reading to learn more about the unwillingness to part with items.

Unwilling To Part With Items

Even if there is no good use for a particular item, a hoarder may refuse to give it up. Hoarders may also claim they are sentimentally attached to a particular item even if they do not know where it is or have not used it (or looked at it extensively) in years. They may become angry and defensive when confronted or claim they don't have uses for all of their things. Although collectors may be unwilling to part with anything in their collections, the distinct difference is collectors take significant pride in their collections in addition to being unwilling to part with them and often pull out the collections to show others or already have them on display.

Continue reading to learn about the connection between hoarding and other mental health conditions.