The word ‘hoarder’ is thrown around liberally, but as a professional in behavior disorders, Dr. David Tolin knows exactly what to look for – and how to fix it.
Tolin, who will be featured on the upcoming season of the reality TV series Hoarders on A&E, shared that hoarding disorders were a lot more common than one may think.
About 19 million Americans suffer from a hoarding disorder, with many needing professional help to overcome the behavioral condition – sometimes in order to save their lives.
‘Hoarding disorder is a psychiatric condition that is characterized by extreme difficulty discarding or otherwise letting go of possessions,’ Tolin told DailyMail.com.
Dr. David Tolin (pictured), who will be featured on the upcoming season of the reality TV series Hoarders on A&E, shared that hoarding disorders were a lot more common than one may think
He explained that hoarding was different from just ‘being messy,’ reiterating that homes could often become unlivable or unsafe
‘[This] results in the clutter building up to the point where living areas in the home are no longer usable for their intended purpose,’ he added.
Tolin explained that hoarding is different from just ‘being messy,’ reiterating that homes can often become unlivable or unsafe.
‘This is where the person really can’t let go of things and has gotten to the point where their house is no longer functional,’ he continued.
‘[Hoarders] get very attached to their possessions.’
The psychologist said there were several types of attachments associated with the possessions they hoard; listing a sentimental attachment, utilization-based attachment and aesthetic attachment as some of the common ones.
When it came to a sentimental attachment, Tolin said a person associated an item to a good time in their life, or a good person, so they struggled to let it go.
As for utilization-based attachment, Tolin provided this example: ‘[Thinking an item is] very important, and I’m going to need it or somebody’s going to need it, and it’s my responsibility to make sure it gets kept.’
Each episode focuses on someone struggling with hoarding tendencies as they work with experts, friends and family in a race against the clock to help them clean up their homes
Some people are simply attached to possessions, just because of their aesthetic properties, he added.
‘The things that are commonly held [onto] are exactly the kinds of things that are probably cluttering your house and my house right now,’ Tolin explained.
According to the professional, there’s not just one thing in particular that a hoarder will gravitate towards, but will struggle in general to let go of items.
‘So it’s newspapers, its magazines, it’s clothes that no longer fit and that they no longer want to wear, it’s things that we think somebody else is going to need,’ he listed.
He added that while it’s not common, in some very severe cases, people have been known to save bodily fluids, nail clippings or even keeping the bodies of dead cats.
Tolin usually spends four months treating people for their hoarding disorder, although he noted it sometimes takes awhile to declutter a home.
‘Even after they receive treatment, it becomes something that you have to work with and become something that you have to deal with, maybe for the rest of your life,’ he shared.
Hoarding results in clutter building up to the point where living areas in the home are no longer usable for their intended purpose
Tolin suggests thinking about every object that you decide to keep and question why you want to keep it, as well as helping people learn ways of regulating their intense emotions in association to possessions.
‘So, you know, ask, “Why do I feel like I need this? What is this actually doing for me?”‘ he suggested.
Tolin said it also helped to put it in perspective in terms of bigger goals.
‘What is it that I really want my home to look like?’ he said. ‘How is it that I really want to function? And are those aims best served by hanging on to this item? Or by letting go of it?’
In the upcoming season of Hoarders, Tolin, who will be advising on an upcoming episode featuring a midwife named Terri, who is struggling with hoarding, said there weren’t many long-term studies yet about hoarding disorders manifesting in children.
‘When we interview adults who have hoarding disorder, they commonly tell us that the behavior has been present since childhood, and that it has gotten steadily worse as they got older, probably leveling out as the person gets into middle age,’ he explained.
Hoarders is an Emmy-nominated and Critics Choice Television Award-winning series, which focuses on some of the most extreme and most challenging hoarders.
Each episode focuses on someone struggling with hoarding tendencies as they work with experts, friends and family in a race against the clock to help them clean up their homes and reclaim balance in their lives.
