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Hoarding and Substance Abuse

Hoarding and Substance Abuse

Collectors like to collect specific things in a variety of different shapes and styles such as bottle caps, paintings, baseball cards, posters, and much more. Hoarders collect unneeded items in fear of throwing anything away. When mixed with substance abuse, this bad combination needs to be treated before you lose control over not just your house but your life.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, 3%-5% of the population hoards. The most common items are newspapers, clothing, packing materials, magazines, books, and animals. Majority of the time, hoarders just have an unhealthy habits of collecting items that they do not need such as flyers or free samples. They will just keep telling themselves that they will use it one day in time. Hoarders also do not organize any of their items into shelves or drawers. The items they have collected are scattered all around the house in piles, making it hard to find anything that you really need. Hoarders may feel the need to clean and get rid of items but they believe that it can be simple and nothing to worry about. When they do try to clean, they simply just move items from one place to the next. They feel if they throw something away, their life will be over.

Hoarding can be linked to substance abuse when hoarders are looking for an outlet to their anxiety and depression. With a cluttered household, many hoarders feel embarrassed to have people over as they feel they cannot entertain guests if they cannot cook meals in their kitchen or give them access to the bathroom. Hoarders feel misunderstood and lost in their own home which causes them to take addictive substances. Any prescription drugs can be purchased online and delivered to their home in packing material that will be easy to hide from guests who enter.

OCD can also be linked to hoarding and substance abuse as those with OCD have disturbing thoughts and behaviors. By substance abusing, this can block understanding this disorder and getting help for it. People with OCD tend to make impulsive decisions so hoarders can have financial troubles if they buy thousands of dollars of items they do not need. Hoarders need to seek help for their behaviors as well as be treated for substance abuse to find out why hoarders feel the need to collect and what caused them to abuse substances.
