In case we need them, we may refuse to part with our possessions, but we have acquired too many of them.
Many of us can relate to having too much stuff, but for some people it can become a problem of hoarding. This leads to a condition called hoarding disorder, when these tendencies significantly impair somebody's quality of life.
Understanding how hoarding manifest and how it relates to other difficulties in everyday life has not received much attention until recently. The DSM-5, the American Psychiatric Association's manual for assessing and diagnosing mental health conditions, was officially recognized in the fall of 2013.
We found that people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder have a higher incidence of symptoms of hoarding than the general population. This shows that people with attention deficit disorder should be assessed for hoarding.
There are difficulties in tossing items, regardless of their value. This results in a lot of possessions that are not intended for use. Problems in socializing, work and other areas of daily functioning can be caused by a disorder called obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Many participants in the research believe that they should have received a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder. There is evidence that shows that people with a disorder experience more problems with attention.
Problems with attention are one of the main characteristics of the condition.
If there is a link between attention and inattention, what about people with attention deficit disorder? Do they have more problems than other people?
All patients in an adult ADHD clinic in the UK were asked to complete a series of questionnaires about their tendencies and behaviors. One-third of the patients took part. A control group with the same age, gender and education characteristics answered the same questions.
We applied thresholds previously established by researchers and clinicians to indicate a disorder. The prevalence of hoarding disorder in the population is close to 2.5 percent, but 20 percent of participants with ADHD reported clinically significant symptoms.
Patients who exhibited symptoms of hoarding in their 30s were more common in both genders. There was a correlation between clinically significant hoarding and poorer quality of life.
People who scored below the threshold for the disorder still reported more issues with it than the control group. Those with more severe attention problems were more likely to have problems.
Many people will relate to the difficulties of these conditions even if they aren't suffering from them.
We reran the study in 220 UK participants and found that 3.6 percent scored above the threshold, and that there was a strong link between inattention and hoarding.
The findings from our study suggest that people with attention deficit disorder should be routinely assessed for signs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Patients endorsed issues once raised in our study, even though they didn't spontaneously raise them.
The study did not include self- reported questionnaires for the investigation of hoarding symptoms. Future studies should use trained clinical staff to assess hoarding. Future research should investigate why there is an association between the two disorders.
One challenge to understanding and providing effective treatment is that many people who suffer from the disorder have limited insight. This means they don't accept that they have a mental health problem or that they are suffering from a mental health condition.
People who come forward or are noticed by health and social care systems are the focus of research. Studies describe samples of mostly female participants in their 50s.
Severe hoarding begins much earlier in life, often by one's 20s, according to these participants. In addition, indirect evidence from demographic studies shows that the genders are 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609-
Our study shows that targeting younger people with attention deficit disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder may help us understand their symptoms better. This could help illuminate the link between the two disorders and support more effective interventions.
Sharon Morein is an associate professor at the university.
This article is free to use under a Creative Commons license. The original article is worth a read.
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