- Date posted
- 48w
Not Sure if Hoarding is a part of OCD...??
Is Hoarding an OCD Disorder or something else...??
Is Hoarding an OCD Disorder or something else...??
Hoarding disorder is a distinct mental health condition that is categorized under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, rather than being classified as a subtype of OCD . While hoarding behaviors can sometimes be present in individuals with OCD, hoarding disorder is now recognized as a separate diagnostic category in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). People with hoarding disorder have persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value, leading to clutter and distress in their living spaces.
Yes it can be
Oh my...ok...now does 1 get help/diagnosis....??š
I have a lot of compulsions that seem hoarding-esque but I canāt figure out which subtype of OCD they fall under. The two major drivers of this for me seem to be a fear that I will forget about them or the memories attached to them or that the things and their significance will be lost to time, and that I might need or want them in the future. I compulsively make lists of things (ex. things I like, things I donāt like, who I am, the contents of my ideal fridge - very plain with lots of fruit) just in case. I heart nearly every song I hear on Spotify (except the ones I actively strongly dislike, of which there are not many) just in case I will forget about them later on (and because I feel guilty about not hearting the song and supporting the artist if I have no valid reason not to but thatās a whole other can of worms). I have a couple containers of āgoodā boxes of all shapes and sizes that Iāve collected that, as it turns out, I never actually look at or use. When I was very little, before my family and I knew I had OCD, I had a āsticker bookā in which I would put every sticker I ever got - because I didnāt like the idea of putting them on anything that I might lose access to. I even found my motherās stamps and obsessively put one of each kind in my sticker book (there were soo many, it took me hours). I have trouble letting go of things, especially if I have any sort of memory attached to it whatsoever. Because, my mind says, what if I forget? My camera roll consists, in large part, of an enormous amount of screenshots of far too many little things that I encounter, and it is extremely rare that I actually look back at them. But the other data I was looking for something I thought I took a screenshot of and I couldnāt find it, so this compulsion is back and much worse. On my computer I canāt open the photos app without it crashing and the number of screenshots I have on there is shown in eight digits. I also have tens of thousands of tabs open in my browser at any given moment (I canāt close them, what if I forget?). I really wish I were exaggerating. I also take an excessive amount of photos of many things throughout my day (I counted once and I took 46 pictures of the same tree when I went on a walk). These are just some little examples of how this obsession manifests in me and my life. Does anyone else experience something similar? Iād love to hear about it.
How do you know if it is OCD or just anxiety caused by inner conflict that needs to be resolved? Thoughts - discussions?
I can't figure out what type of OCD I have. I must be the only one who has mental hoarding OCD with some Just right and death themes. I've never seen a description of someone's symptoms that match mine. Mine are a combination of Just right and mental hoarding of a memory. Like if I have dinner, I need to do a routine where I take in various elements on the environment - the food, my phone, the people around, pets, the coolness of the air con, and think of them in a specific syntax. I need to go through this thinking cycle without also thinking about certain people, deceased people, any themes of death, certain colours (red and black mostly) and then when I get to the end I deliberately have to think about something that is anti-death, like a particularly person who is younger, a certain good colour. But there are other conditions to prevent having to re-do the routine. The phone can't give me a notification or ring. Then I have to touch the phone and think of a supporting person or colour. On top of this, if I go to Youtube, Facebook or anywhere else and I see something related to death first I have to re-do the whole routine. I have a pre-thought that protects me if I do see something in the theme of death. Touching a cat tail will re-trigger the routine and so will touching a certain matt or matts in my house without first say '1,2,3,4'. I do these mental hoarding routines every time I eat, every time I leave the house, every time I leave work, before I go to sleep. The other element of this is protecting loved ones and pets. In some of my routines, around food, leaving the house and going to bed, I have to mentally think of everyone in the house and all of my pets in the same way as above. I dont even know if it is OCD. It's mostly mental compulsions. I don't get anxiety, just discomfort. As exotic as my symptoms seem to be, I don't think my OCD is as bad as it is for others. it's a bit Just right and thats it. My symptoms do not fit any of the categories.
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