Hoarding Disorder vs OCD: Similarities and Differences
Hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are two disorders that are widely known, but commonly misunderstood. OCD is often portrayed as a quirky obsession over ordering or cleanliness. This is not a full picture of what OCD is.
Hoarding disorder is more understood than OCD, but it’s often misunderstood as a kind of OCD.
In this article, we’ll talk about what OCD and hoarding disorder is, and how they compare to each other.
What is OCD?
OCD is a mental health disorder that causes intrusive thoughts that compel ritualistic behaviors.
Everyone experiences intrusive thoughts throughout their life. The difference for people with OCD is that their intrusive thoughts do not fade over time. Instead, they cause high levels of anxiety, and the thoughts become harder to ignore.
Ritualistic behaviors, or compulsions, are the behaviors that someone with OCD implements to quell or stop distressing thoughts. People with OCD tend to experience a specific kind of intrusive thought. This can manifest in several ways including fear of physical harm, fear of contamination, and ordering.
Examples of OCD Obsessions and Compulsions
Obsessive thoughts experienced by those with OCD are not logical but nonetheless cause distress and compulsive behaviors. Here are examples of OCD obsessions and compulsions:
- Everything I’ve touched is now dirty so I need to clean everything I’ve touched or else people will get sick
- I’ll need to use this later so I need to constantly check I haven’t lost it
- If I ever lose control I could hurt someone. I need to stay inside
- Something awful may have just happened. I need to check outside
- My body is breaking down. I need to workout or else I won’t be able to function
- If I don’t pray, God won’t love me. I need to pray every 10 minutes
Obsessions are not logical and can’t always be explained in simple language. For example, some people with OCD have unwanted thoughts about violence, taboos, or sex.
Read our full guide on OCD to learn more: OCD: Treatment, Symptoms, and Causes
What is Hoarding Disorder?
Hoarding disorder is a mental health disorder that makes getting rid of possessions difficult due to a perceived need to keep items. A perceived need could be anything from thinking it could be helpful in the future or keeping it for nostalgia or a perceived connection.
The prevailing thoughts that influence hoarding behaviors are largely impulsive. Little to no thought goes into the true value of the hoarded objects. People who hoard don’t always hoard similar items, and instead they acquire things that seem important at the time.
Hoarding OCD vs Hoarding Disorder
Hoarding OCD is a specific form of OCD that involves collecting material things. It looks a lot like hoarding disorder, but the two originate from different places. Understandably, these two are often confused, but they are indeed different disorders.
Hoarding OCD originates from a fear that harm will occur if items are given or thrown away. This could be a fear of harm to self or others, and can sometimes be attached to a specific person. For example, someone may keep a drawing their child drew because they believe getting rid of it will cause their child harm. The thoughts associated with hoarding OCD are repetitive, excessive, and distressing.
Those with a hoarding disorder keep items due to a heightened perceived value, not from a place of fear. This could be the sentimental value or thinking it could be helpful in the future. Thoughts associated with hoarding occur in a typical fashion and are not obsessive or repetitive.
Similarities Between Hoarding Disorder and OCD
OCD and hoarding disorder don’t share many similarities. Most of them are only perceived because in actuality the thought process and the root of the disorders are very different.
Holding On To Things
It’s not uncommon for people with OCD to have compulsions to hold onto worthless items. From the outside, this doesn’t look dissimilar to hoarding disorder.
The Trauma Connection
Both OCD and hoarding disorder can develop from childhood traumatic experiences. For people who hoard, growing up in an environment without a stable definition of ownership or neglect can contribute to the development of hoarding disorder.
Similar experiences of neglect and other traumatic childhood experiences can contribute to developing OCD.
Learn more about trauma and how it affects our mental health: Trauma: Definition, Effects, & Types
Differences Between Hoarding Disorder and OCD
Hoarding disorder and OCD are far more different than they are alike. These are the differences between OCD and hoarding disorder.
Origin of Thoughts
OCD is characterized by repetitive and distressing thoughts. This isn’t the case for hoarding disorder.
The thoughts associated with hoarding disorder are not repetitive in nature. The thoughts are impulsive, but they may diminish over time. They are part of a typical thought process for the person and don’t feel as distressing as the compulsions typical of OCD.
Breadth of Symptoms
OCD has numerous symptoms associated with it and numerous different types. Each person who struggles with OCD can experience different kinds of thoughts and compulsions. There are general categories that these could fall under including:
- Checking
- Symmetry
- Contamination
- Relationship
- Existential
Each of these has unique thoughts associated with them, but no matter the subject of the thought, they are repeated, persistent, and distressing.
Hoarding disorder is a much more constrictive diagnosis. Someone with a hoarding disorder may hoard specific items or keep things for a specific purpose. However, the disorder doesn’t have much variability from person to person.
Treatment for Hoarding Disorder and OCD
Mental health treatment is a growing field. Every day professionals and researchers are learning more about effective and scientifically proven methods for treating mental health conditions.
Treatment for hoarding disorder and OCD is difficult and challenging. However, symptoms of both disorders can become manageable.
Hoarding Disorder Treatment
People with hoarding disorder often don’t recognize their behaviors as negative or harmful. Because of this, it’s hard to start the treatment process to begin with. However, by learning new skills and growing to recognize the issues, people can break free of hoarding disorder.
The most used treatment for hoarding disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a treatment that focuses on helping people understand how their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all connected.
While attending CBT people with hoarding disorder may:
- Learn how to notice and challenge thoughts that are compelling people toward hoarding.
- Learn how to make better purchasing decisions.
- Be encouraged to attend social events and gatherings.
- Work with a professional organizer to remove clutter and reorganize their home.
Read our full guide on CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
For people who have been hoarding for a long time, there’s a lot of decluttering work to be done. That’s why treatment for hoarding disorder usually involves help from friends and family. Friends and family are encouraged to help their loved one change their life for the better.
OCD Treatment
Treatment is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It takes a long time for symptoms to become manageable.
A common approach to OCD treatment uses medications like SSRIs and SSNRIs to keep serotonin levels healthy. These medications keep anxiety levels low while elevating mood.
Read our full guide on antidepressants: How and Why Antidepressants Work
Receiving medication is a great starting point for OCD treatment. The medications will make obsessions less anxiety-centered. This is one goal of OCD treatment. Therapists want to help OCD patients understand that it’s not necessary to indulge in compulsions and that if they don’t turn to their compulsions, nothing bad will happen.
Medication is most effective when used alongside talk therapy. Just like hoarding disorder, the most common form of therapy used for OCD is CBT. CBT helps patients with OCD understand that fears and compulsions are unfounded.
OCD and Hoarding Treatment at Sequoia Behavioral Health
OCD and hoarding disorders can be debilitating disorders that stop people from living a fulfilling life. The cycle of obsessions and compulsions can be ended with proper and consistent treatment.
Sequoia Behavioral Health offers a holistic approach to mental health treatment. Whether receiving treatment at our residential treatment center, partial hospitalization program, or intensive outpatient program, we’ll develop a personalized treatment program designed to help you best.
Contact us today to start the process of getting treatment.