Storage Disorder: What Is It?

Perhaps you have already heard of Diogenes syndrome, that disorder characterized by social isolation, to the point of locking oneself in one’s nest and completely neglecting the cleanliness of the environment and personal hygiene. Storage disorder could be confused with Diogenes syndrome.

However, they are two different pathologies. The main difference is that those suffering from Diogenes syndrome not only accumulate useless objects, but also garbage and waste, and take carelessness of their personal hygiene to the extreme.

In hoarding disorder, there are persistent difficulties in discarding or separating from one’s possessions. The real value of these assets does not matter. They can be objects of little economic or sentimental value.

This difficulty can manifest itself in many ways, including selling, throwing, gifting or recycling. At the base of this difficulty there is the perception of the utility or aesthetic value of the elements or a strong sentimental attachment. Another reason is the famous “just in case”: you buy a new laptop, in case the current one should have a problem. And when that happens, you still keep using the old one, in case both of you have a problem. And so on.

Some people feel responsible for the fate of their possessions and often do everything in their power to avoid being a spendthrift. Fear of missing important information is equally common in people with hoarding disorder.

How is storage disorder diagnosed?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) lists a number of  diagnostic criteria for this disorder. Are the following:

A.  Persistent difficulty in discarding or giving up one’s assets,  regardless of their real value.

B. This difficulty is due to the need to keep things and  to the malaise that one feels when one gets rid of them. 

C. The difficulty in disposing of goods gives rise to the accumulation of objects that obstruct and obstruct the various areas of the house, thus altering their use. If the habitable areas are free, it is only due to the action of other people (for example, family members, cleaning staff, authorities).

D. Accumulation causes clinically important distress or deterioration in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning  (including maintaining a safe environment for oneself and others).

E. This accumulation is not attributable to another medical condition  (for example, brain injury, cerebrovascular disease, Prader-Willi syndrome).

F. This accumulation can not be explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder  (for example, obsessions in obsessive-compulsive disorder, decreased energy in major depressive disorder, delusions in schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, cognitive impairment in major neurocognitive disorder, decreased interest in autism spectrum disorders).

A house full of useless objects

The items that accumulate most frequently are  newspapers, magazines, old clothes, bags, books, electronic devices and paper.

The nature of the items is  not limited to goods that most people would call useless or of little value. Many people also collect and store a large number of valuable things that are often accumulated and mixed with other items of little value.

People with accumulation disorder voluntarily keep their assets. They experience with anguish the moment when they face the possibility of getting rid of them. L ‘accumulation is therefore intentional. 

This feature differentiates the hoarding disorder from other psychopathological disorders, characterized by the passive accumulation of items or the absence of discomfort when disposing of them.

People who stockpile large numbers of items fill and clutter the living areas of the house to the point of hindering normal activities. For example, the person may not be able to cook in the kitchen, sleep in their bed, or sit in a chair.

Difficulty using the spaces in the house

Clutter is defined as a large group of objects generally unrelated to each other or marginally related, but put together in a disorganized way in a space should be intended for other purposes.

As we saw in the diagnostic criteria, criterion C affects the active living areas of the house and in the adjacent areas, such as the garage, the attic or the cellar. Such areas are extremely cluttered in the homes of people with storage disorder.

The same problem can also affect other spaces such as vehicles, courtyards, offices and homes of friends or relatives.

In some cases,  habitable areas may not be altered by third parties,  such as family members, cleaners or local authorities. People who have been forced to clean their homes still have symptoms that match the criteria for hoarding disorder. And the lack of clutter should be the intervention of other people.

The accumulation disorder counteracts the normal action of reordering, which is organized and systematic. Normal tidying up does not cause the chaos, discomfort, or deterioration typical of hoarding disorder.

As we have seen, this disorder results in the accumulation of goods that may or may not serve the person. The severity of the disorder increases over the years and often, especially in the absence of adequate intervention, becomes chronic.