Hoarding

You might hoard because you feel a strong need to keep things.

Hoarding disorder is a mental health problem that a doctor can diagnose. But you might also experience hoarding as part of another mental or physical health problem.

If you hoard, you might:

• Feel the need to get more things, even if you have a lot already
• Have very strong positive feelings whenever you get more things
• Feel very upset or anxious at the thought of throwing or giving things away because of your emotional attachment to them
• Find it very hard to decide what to keep or get rid of
• Have lots of disagreements with the people close to you about your things
• Find it hard to pack for trips away, like a holiday 

For example, you might believe the following:

• You need to keep items 'just in case' even if it's been a long time since you last used the item
• You won't cope with how you'll feel if you throw things away.
• If you throw anything away, you are being wasteful.
• Your things make you feel happy or keep you safe
• Your things are all unique and special