Hoarding is a compulsion and thousands of people suffer from this disorder. Different psychological reasons are responsible for the tendency of hoarding. The first psychological reason is extreme perfectionism. People who want to do everything with perfection suffer from the fear of making mistakes; such fear can force people not to throw anything away. They think or feel that they might do it wrong and throw the wrong thing out. They fill their house with useless things. Hoarding can be dangerous for the inhabitants of a house. An average of 15 million people in the US suffers from hoarding compulsion. They make their homes so congested that their own family members cannot come to visit them even if they wish.
Another serious psychological reason that instigates hoarding is the fear of losing vital things. People often hoard from their fear and insecurities. Such compulsion has to be treated through counseling and medical treatments. When a person starts hoarding nobody seems to notice. It is only after a long period of time that hoarding becomes apparent to the hoarder’s family or near ones. Some people are scared to waste things and they feel the compulsion to pile up useless goods and even used or broken goods. They never throw away litter or newspaper.
Another major reason for hoarding is that people feel sentimental about discarding their favorite items. They feel a bonding with their materialistic possessions and cannot throw them away. Genes are also associated with the tendency of hoarding. Anxiety and insecurity are two deep rooted problems which triggers the tendency of hoarding in people. Hoarders do not know how to let go off things and become obsessed with their possessions. Old furniture, picture books and things associated with childhood or college life are very precious for some people and they attach great value to their old stuff and keep on hoarding objects from the past.
