Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save & How You Can Stop (Paperback)

~ Fugen Neziroglu (Author), Jerome, Ph.D. Bubrick (Author), (Author), Patricia Perkins (Foreword) "Our knowledge of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has grown over the past fifteen to twenty years; however, there is still one element of OCD that remains..." (more)
Key Phrases: positive visual reinforcement, many hoarders, functional living space, Step Four, Step One, Step Three (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Collyer brothers, with their bicycle-, chandelier- and newspaper-packed Harlem apartment, may have been the most famous sufferers of compulsive hoarding (see the recent biography Ghosty Men by Franz Lidz), but this syndrome affects several million Americans, according to the authors of this excellent, easy-to-understand handbook. The authors, two psychologists and a psychiatrist, all experts in treating forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, define the syndrome as "the acquisition and saving of possessions that have little or no value" or a value perceived only by the hoarder, who "has great difficulty" discarding the objects. The book offers case histories showing how damaging the syndrome can be to one’s relationships and quality of life, self-assessment exercises and, most usefully, a discussion of treatment options, from self-help strategies using cognitive therapy to outside professional help.
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Product Description

This book, the first ever written for savers and their families, provides an overview of compulsive hoarding and how it relates to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It discusses hoarding broadly, offering readers perspectives on the physical, behavioral, and value-oriented aspects of the condition. Readers can use its assessment tools to help decide why they or their loved one hoards. Skill-building exercises help readers determine how to beat the hoarding problem by addressing issues that often underlie compulsive saving. Even though this is fundamentally a self-help book, it contains a frank discussion about the need for professional help in some hoarding cases, how to find it, and what medications have been proven effective for savers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 146 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157224349X
• ISBN-13: 978-1572243491
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

251 of 266 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unique but flawed, February 7, 2005

By	Paulo Rios "Kreatis" (Europe) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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There is no other book like this. I have seen people who suffer from compulsive hoarding and how hard it is for them to even recognize what affects them and their families. This short book was long overdue. The authors are certainly knowledgeable. They enlisted some of the best authorities in the field. Yet this book is a major disappointment. The ingredients were all there but all is lost. They miss key points about the nature of hoarding.

They do mention well-known cognitive strategies (all or nothing thinking, overgeneralization, jumping to conclusions and others). They try to apply them in "flash cards" of the kind "I am a loser because my house is such a mess". Yet most hoarders do not feel this way. They feel attached to their possessions, they can't throw them away. They do not see themselves as losers per se, but strangely attached to things that they know they must depart from but that they can't.
The authors use "flash card" with statements such as "I can't throw away these plastics bags" to be put against "should statements" and "jumping to conclusions". Yet the real thing behind what hoarders feel is not what these techniques show. The real thing is called fear. These techniques do not address them.

Later in the chapter, "cleaning the clutter", a lot of time is devoted to tell hoarders that they should separate their stuff in the categories "save", "discard" and "handle immediately". A typical hoarder will put most of his/her stuff back in the "save" category! The authors ask them to apply cognitive strategies explained in an earlier chapter without actually going through them for each type of possession and addressing the fear that hoarders feel. A great technique used by psychologist Foa (E/RP, exposure with response prevention) is only later applied to acquiring and not to discarding. So anxiety levels will still be high while discarding since the fear is not directly addressed by the typical cognitive strategies. Decision making is a key issue and apart from the general cognitive strategies, little else is done in this to book to help.

There are clear contradictions as well:
- In page 116, it says "if a magazine was printed six or more months ago, you should probably recycle or discard it. Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule, like a newspaper that features a story about something dear to you" (a hoarder will certainly find that 95% belongs to this category!).
- In the next page it says, "it is better at the beginning to go to an extreme and discard all magazines and newspapers until your hoarding behaviors are under better control. Then, if you can throw out newspaper daily, there will be no need to keep them around for six months."
--> To keep it for 6 months or not to keep it?? To discard all or not to? Two pages are devoted to newspaper and magazines, things that most hoarders keep. And in two pages, a few contradictions are offered to whom can't make a decision easily.

What is most sad is that this book could be of great help since there is simply no other book in the market devoted to compulsive hoarding alone. But, with these serious flaws, little hope is unfortunately there.

142 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved my life!, October 26, 2004

By	Gwendolyn Thompson (Madison WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding saved my life! It's the first book I have read that accurately addresses why I hang onto things and why I can't let them go. I have had to deal with clutter all my life. I have felt shame and been hard on myself until I read the book. The invaluable insights in this book have helped me to clear the clutter. Once I know why I'm hanging onto something it's much easier to let go of it! Other organizational books have not worked for me because the books assume I have no emotional obstacles to becoming organized. This book is a must-read! I am very pleased with this book and recommend it to anybody, hoarder or non-hoarder, who has difficulty with clutter and organization.

109 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved me from eviction, December 6, 2004

By	-- - See all my reviews

A few months ago, I was given 30 days to get my apartment to the point that it was not a fire and health hazard. I have struggled all of my adult life with hoarding and compulsively buying everything imaginable. I could barely even walk around in my place. I have read many other books, had professionals come in and "organize me", taken medication, been in therapy and nothing worked until I got this book. Not only have I gotten the physical clutter under control, my life is less cluttered and my quality of life has drastically improved. A must read for hoarders and friends and relatives of hoarders