Hoarding

Hoarding is a general term for a behavior that leads people or animals to accumulate food or other items during periods of scarcity.

Hoarding and caching are common behaviors in many bird species as well as in rodents. Most animal caches are of food. However, some birds will also stingily collect other items, especially if the birds are pets. Magpies are infamous for hoarding items such as money and jewelry. (Contrary to popular belief, research suggests magpies are no more attracted to shiny things than other kinds of items.) One theory suggests that human hoarding may be related to animal hoarding behavior, but at this time, substantial evidence is lacking.

Civil unrest or natural disaster may lead people to hoard foodstuffs, water, gasoline and other essentials which they believe, rightly or wrongly, will soon be in short supply. Survivalists, also known as preppers, often stockpile large supplies of these items in anticipation of a large-scale disaster event.

Hoarders are people who lose the desire to throw away unneeded items because of a feeling of attachment to these items. Compulsive hoarders will equate certain, usually mundane, objects to their own personal identity or even give them certain human characteristics. Hoarding is different from obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) because their thoughts about hoarding are in their natural stream of thought, not unwanted or distressed thoughts that people with OCD feel.

In severe cases, houses belonging to such people may become a fire hazard (due to blocked exits and stacked papers) or a health hazard (due to vermin infestation, excreta and detritus from excessive pets, hoarded food and garbage or the risk of stacks of items collapsing on the occupants and blocking exit routes).

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, the symptoms for hoarding disorder include:

Specify if:

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