What is the official definition of Hoarding Disorder? Hoarding
Disorder has been defined as: The acquisition of, and failure to
discard, a large number of possessions; Clutter that precludes
activities for which living spaces were designed; and
Significant distress and impairment in functioning caused by the
hoarding. How many people in the US hoard? It is believed that
between 3 million and 6 million people in the U.S. struggle with
hoarding behavior. Estimates of prevalence rates of hoarding
behavior in the United States vary significantly and because of
research limitations (e.g. small sample size, clinical samples,
etc.) are likely underestimates of the actual number of people
who hoard. Is there an actual diagnosis for hoarding behavior?
Currently, there is no specific psychiatric diagnosis for
hoarding behavior, though a majority of the time another mental
health concern is also a problem for people who struggle with
hoarding (for example, depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, dementia,
etc.). There is a poss