Do you consider hoarding a mental illness?

Depends what you define as a mental illness, I wouldn't really. I'd say it's just a lifestyle that person prefers. Let people live the way they f***ing want if it's not harming anyone other than themselves (and it might not even really be harming themselves).

Hell yeah, have you seen those people on that TV show, they're f***ing insane.

It's relative, but for some it is definitely a mental illness. In high school a friend's mom was one of those for whom it is an illness. Their house was stacked floor to ceiling with stuff...every room, including the hallways. The only relatively clear areas were narrow pathways through which you could walk. Not pretty.

I lean towards yes, but as with mental illness in general, there are no fine lines. Some could consider collecting a form of hoarding.

I hoard precious metals. I don't think I'm ill! but it is neatly stored lol

This one looks like a slob but some kinds of collecting and hoarding are obsessive compulsive behavior.

I have hoarding tendencies but my sh*t is pretty organized

yes obviously it's an illness because a sane person would not feel the need to keep a tissue for 10 years because of "sentimental value". just sayin

I'm studying to become a psychologist and yes it is an illness of sorts. In the DSM-IV it is classified as a subtype of OCD (Obssessive-Compulsive Disorder)

Hoarding is a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, considered a mental illness.

I don't think that it hoarding has to do with being lazy at all. I mean, it also depends on how much "hoarding" you're doing... I think hoarding is a mental illness because it's an obsession with holding on to stuff that you really don't need. It's kind of like obsessive cleaning... but it's not. That's what I think.

A lot of people who hoard things get really upset when you try and like clean out their stuff or start to remove it from the area that they have it all in. If they were really lazy, I don't think they would be so emotionally attached and get upset when you tried to get rid of it.

It is.. They are emotionally attached to the stuff in their house even if its trash.

It might be partially mental and partially laziness... There are 2 types in my opinion. Those people who keep a bunch of stuff because they know it still works even if THEY don't need them or make use of them, but keep them just because they might still be useful sometime in the future.

Then there are those who don't even throw out the bathroom trash and leave it piling up, or any other trash at all for that matter. It's disgusting.

However, being lazy has to do with your mentality as well. They "think" it's too hard to do one thing or another, and end up doing nothing! Whereas some people have trouble figuring out if they will make use of something later on, if it still works.


This link is by far the worst thing I've ever seen! EWK!
That lady is one disgusting person, along with her children! All of them are lazy sick humans! Yet, they all blame each-other. Crazies!

Yeah I do. ESP if they are hoarding only a specific type of thing

Some of those people on Hoarders are seriously mental, they have disorders, sometimes more than one, other times it's coupled with a physical disorder.
There is always a trigger that causes it, so in my case it's more likely than not a mental illness that causes hoarding.

I think it depends on the person. For those people you see on those TV shows, I would say it borders on being a mental illness. I also had a close friend whose mom was a total hoarder... she even kept McDonald's toys and things like that. But it stemmed from her experience as a child when she came home to find that her new stepmom and pretty much thrown away all of her stuff. I could be described as mildly hoarding I guess... but my family moves pretty often so in the end I know I will have to get rid of most of my stuff and I'm okay with that. So for me I would say it's laziness lol.

Well, hoarding is a form of OCD, which I have. Sometime people have it a lot more serious than others but I guess it all depends on what you equate mental illness with. I personally only think it becomes a mental "illness" once it takes over your life in a way you can't hope to control.

I know someone (a family member) who died with their house full to the tops of the doors with collected junk. She had a serious illness. Mine is more minor, I can control my hoarding although it becomes more serious with stress. I'll hoard a few objects unconsciously and only when I step back and analyse what I'm doing is when I realize I need to stop.

It isn't about being lazy. There's a difference between someone who can't be bothered to clean up their mess and someone who hoards. A person who hoards does NOT do it with the intention of making their house messy. Unconsciously we grow attached to objects that may not even be of any use to us still and still there is something that makes it difficult for us to let go.

In that sense, it is an illness.

It's definitely a mental illness, but probably not all people who hoard have it. Some might be really lazy. So it's a mix of both.

Most times its Part laziness and part menta/behavioral condition. For some its more laziness than condition, and for others its more condition than laziness. Sometimes its not laziness at all and sometimes its not mental or behavioral condition at all, it is different from person to person.

I was raised by a hoarder and I believe that I have inherited this condition. Its like I have an attachment to objects. Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself why am I holding onto this. Its really weird because I'm also OCD about cleanliness since I grew up living in clutter and I'm afraid I'll become a hoarder, so its always a struggle for me.

its in the DSM-IV

It's a form of OCD

Yes because you have to be ill to live like that

There are lazy people but then there are also people with attachment issues. Like on the show Hoarders some people think that getting rid of their things is literally going to kill them...

Some people have issues with letting go which can be seen as a mental issue. So they end up having stacks of unnecessary things out of fear that one day they will need it or that they'll be missing something without it.

yes. it's usually not about cleaning up,as much as it is an issue with keeping and getting more things.