Many people with OCD have trouble controlling their obsessions or compulsions, and sometimes, this type of anxiety over obsessions and compulsions can look very similar to the anxiety that someone experiences when they have a hoarding disorder and don’t want to get rid of otherwise worthless items.
This article will explore the similarities, differences, and mental health consequences of OCD and hoarding disorder, along with strategies for managing these conditions.
Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by unwanted and repetitive thoughts or behaviors, otherwise known as compulsions and obsessions. Those who struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder might experience unwanted and recurring images or thoughts, usually about things like contamination, sex, religion, losing things, or even harm, while the ritualistic or repetitive compulsions or behaviors are things that individuals have to do to try and control those obsessions like silently repeating phrases, washing hands a certain number of times, counting, or checking on things.
OCD can have a severe impact on daily function, leading to disruptions in socialization and relationships.
What Is Hoarding Disorder?
Hoarding disorder is a mental health condition where an individual feels that they must strongly store items that typically have no monetary value, or they will experience significant distress. This can lead to an accumulation of things like household goods, newspapers, clothing, and even animals. This condition can significantly impact daily life, leading to things like stress, shame, unhealthy or unsafe living conditions, and more.
Hoarding Disorder vs. OCD: Key Differences and Similarities
There are some similarities between OCD and hoarding, but it’s important to understand the key difference between OCD and hoarding disorder.
Difference Between OCD and Hoarding Disorder
Hoarding is an impulsive behavior where individuals might struggle with significant clutter that is a source of embarrassment for them, not something like a neat and tidy collection that is on display. Those who struggle with hoarding disorder might:
- Fill their home, office, or car to such a degree that they can’t navigate
- Need extra storage units to hold their possessions
- Flat out refuse to get rid of anything
- Become aggressive if someone talks about getting rid of things
- Have significant shame over their clutter
- Not let anyone touch their things
- And, in extreme cases, be unable to work or maintain financial stability
OCD, by comparison, can manifest as obsessions over a wide array of things, and these obsessions are thoughts that are often outside of an individual’s control. Those obsessions do not directly align with any personal values, and the compulsions that someone might experience are done in order to help counter those obsessions.
Hoarding Disorder vs. OCD: Where They Overlap
The two overlap more often than you might think, with one in four people who have OCD struggling with compulsive hoarding and, on the other end, one in five people with hoarding disorder struggling with OCD symptoms.
Someone who has both OCD and hoarding disorder might hoard as part of their compulsion, so they don’t get any joy from it, and they might experience severe obsessions or fears relating to contamination or keeping all of the things that they hoard in just the right place.
Similarly, someone with OCD and hoarding behavior might display compulsive behaviors out of fear of what happens if items that they have hoarded get thrown away or misplaced.
Is Hoarding an OCD Disorder?
Many people ask, “Is hoarding an OCD disorder?”
In previous iterations of the DSM, hoarding was considered a subtype of OCD, but today, it has been reclassified as a separate condition. There are still some overlapping symptoms and overlapping treatments, but hoarding disorder now falls under its own distinct condition.
How OCD and Hoarding Disorder Affect Mental Health
So, how does hoarding disorder vs. OCD impact mental health?
Emotional and Psychological Impact
With both OCD and hoarding disorder, there is a significant risk of emotional and psychological impact on the individual as both conditions generate extreme fear or anxiety and can result in significant shame because of the behaviors.
Impact on Relationships and Social Life
Those with OCD and hoarding disorder will experience a significant impact on their personal relationships as well as their social lives. Someone with a hoarding disorder might not be able to socialize by having people at their house or maintain a relationship. Someone with OCD might find it difficult to be in certain social situations or maintain relationships because of their obsessions or compulsions.
Occupational and Daily Functioning Impairments
As mentioned, in severe cases, hoarding disorder can manifest to such a degree that it impairs daily function and occupational function. OCD is more likely to impair daily and occupational function.
Causes and Risk Factors of OCD and Hoarding Disorder
The exact causes and risk factors for hoarding disorder are not yet known but tend to have to do with issues relating to sustained attention, organization, problem-solving, and planning. Hoarding can also develop in individuals who deal with substance abuse, impulsive buying habits, brain injuries, or trauma.
By comparison, obsessive-compulsive disorder is more likely to occur because of genetic or biological factors and less because of environmental or psychological triggers.
Treatment Options for OCD and Hoarding Disorder
The treatment options for OCD and hoarding disorder share many similarities, involving a combination of therapy, medication, and specialized interventions.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a popular form of talk therapy that can be used to treat hoarding disorder and OCD. With this type of therapy, individuals can learn how to improve organizational skills and decision-making, things that might contribute to OCD symptoms or hoarding.
It is usually combined with an attempt to change beliefs, often unrealistic and negative, which continually influence thoughts and behaviors around obsessions, compulsions, and hoarding. It is also something where individuals have a hands-on approach with regular homework and tasks to complete during their therapy, usually practical tasks with plans to help declutter their space.
Medications for OCD and Hoarding Disorder
Medications can be used for things like OCD and hoarding disorder, particularly SSRIs.
Specialized Hoarding Interventions
Specialized hoarding interventions can include things like skills training, exposure and response prevention, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation can help reduce OCD symptoms for those who are unresponsive to other forms of treatment and can be used in conjunction with any other type of treatment options.
Conclusion
Overall, while there is a difference between OCD and hoarding disorder, they both have similarities in terms of symptoms and causes as well as treatment. If you or anyone else is experiencing symptoms of hoarding disorder vs. OCD, it is important to get an early diagnosis and treatment for both conditions to help improve your daily function and overall emotional well-being.