Compulsive hoarding
The Compulsive hoarding is obsessive-compulsive disorder which leads to raise or not to throw a large number of useless objects even if their accumulation causes major discomfort. Combined with the conservation of waste or excrement and domestic hygiene and faulty body it is called 'Diogenes syndrome.'
Symptoms
There are few studies on the Compulsive hoarding. However, Randy Frost, professor of psychology at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Dr. Hartl in 1996 gave the following symptoms:
* Accumulation voluntary or inability to take a large number of possessions that seem useless to any other person or a very limited interest.
* Place of life cluttered as to limit the movements
* Discomfort and pain caused by the accumulation of objects.
In their study, a patient, D., lived with her two children aged 11 and 14 years. She described his behavior as a "small problem that had emerged several years ago" when marital difficulties. D. said his father had had the same problem and that it had even begun to put things aside from a very young age. D. also suffered from other obsessive-compulsive disorder. The volume of accumulated objects occupied 70% of his house. Aside from the bathroom, no room in the house could be employed properly. The two main access doors to the house were locked and the occupants had to go through the garage to enter.
Several studies have shown a correlation between the Compulsive hoarding and obsessive compulsive disorder. However, there are individuals who show symptoms of compulsive accumulation without suffering from other obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients suffering from hyperactivity or attention deficit are often victims of Compulsive hoarding.
Physiology and treatment
It was noted that individuals who exhibit these symptoms tend to have a cerebral glucose metabolism differs from others.
The disorders are usually treated by psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral therapy) or antidepressants.
Famous Cases
* The Collyer brothers, Langley and Homer Collyer Lusk, called Hermits of Harlem, who accumulated 136 tons of knick knacks in their building has three floors in New York. Deaths in 1947, they are buried at Cypress Hills.
Read also Schizophrenia
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