The American Psychiatric Association defines hoarding disorder as a persistent problem of getting rid of possessions that may lead to clutter and can disrupt someone’s work or living space. Some people may confuse hoarding disorder with collecting. However, unlike collecting, the items that someone with a hoarding disorder keeps aren’t neatly displayed and don’t have significant value.
The most common types of hoarding disorders include:
- Animal hoarding
- Bibliomania (book hoarding)
- Shopping hoarding
- Food hoarding
- Trash hoarding
- Paper hoarding
The most common symptoms of a hoarding disorder are:
- The inability to throw away possessions
- Severe anxiety at the thought of throwing away items or during an attempt to throw away items
- Difficulty keeping items organized or neat
- Obsessive thoughts and compulsions related to hoarding
If you’re concerned that these symptoms describe you, instead of wondering, “Am I a hoarder?” take a self-assessment to determine the likelihood that you have a hoarding disorder.
Compulsive Hoarding Self-Assessment
If you think you or someone you know is living with a hoarding disorder, this self-assessment can help you identify the symptoms. This quiz is a self-guided assessment that has been created from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which is the standard criteria for diagnosing mental health and substance use disorders. While the results of this compulsive hoarding quiz do not a substitute for a formal clinical diagnosis, they can help you better understand the possibility that you or someone you know has a hoarding disorder.
The self-assessment contains 12 questions related to a hoarding disorder.
Please answer “yes” or “no” for each question. In the past six months, have you:
Experienced persistent difficulty getting rid of or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value?
Felt a perceived need to save items?
Experienced distress associated with discarding possessions?
Had clutter that made it difficult to use your home or work environments?
Experienced significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other essential areas of functioning due to the accumulation of items?
Been diagnosed with or experienced symptoms of another medical condition?
Been diagnosed with or experienced symptoms of another mental health disorder?
Lost available space in your living or work area due to the accumulation of possessions?
Recognized that you are experiencing symptoms and behaviors of a hoarding disorder?
Felt that your symptoms or behaviors are not problematic?
Experienced other symptoms including indecisiveness, perfectionism, avoidance and procrastination?
Felt embarrassed by the condition of your home or workspace due to the accumulation of possessions?
