Are you a hoarder? It may be a sign you have ADHD

ONE of the things that my wife, Clare, and I argue about is the amount of old clothes, medical magazines, broken furniture and other junk that fills our attic, garage and cupboards. When I say: ‘Let’s get a skip or take it to the charity shop,’ Clare gets defensive and mumbles something along the lines of: ‘Not now.’

Clare is something of a hoarder, although not as bad as the people you might have seen on TV.

‘Hoarding disorder’ is a mental health problem affecting around

2 per cent of the population.

According to a recent paper in the British Journal of General

Practice, it is commonly missed and people who have it may not even realise. Signs to look out for include having so much clutter that it negatively impacts life or relationships.

It’s not clear what causes hoarding disorder but new research has linked it to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), where people find it difficult to stay focused on a task.

In a recent study, researchers at Anglia Ruskin University tested people attending an ADHD clinic and found that 19 per cent definitely had hoarding disorder, while the remaining 81 per cent showed hoarding tendencies, though not bad enough to significantly impact their lives.

Clare, who has never been formally diagnosed but almost certainly has ADHD, says she holds on to stuff because she thinks ‘I’ll need this someday’. She has grand plans (not untypical of people with ADHD) to restore our junk, although I suspect this will never happen.

For those with hoarding disorder, cognitive behavioural therapy is one of the few things that’s been shown to help.

If your problem is just that you are surrounded by too much clutter, here are a few tips:

START SMALL: Don’t aim to clear the whole house in a single weekend — begin with one room or even just a cupboard.

SORT BY CATEGORY: If, for example, you want to declutter your wardrobe, get all your clothes out and sort them into shirts, trousers, jackets, pants, etc. Then apply the one-year rule: if you haven’t worn (or used) an item for at least a year and you don’t have specific plans to use it soon, put it aside for the skip or a charity shop.

GET A FRIEND TO HELP: This reduces the risk of tense standoffs when clearing cupboards with your partner. I speak from personal experience.