A lot of people think of hoarding as something extreme — a home crammed to the ceiling with possessions. However, it tends to start gradually, and research has found that it can begin in adolescence ...

For people who develop hoarding behaviors, possessions take on meanings and values far beyond their practical use. Each item becomes deeply intertwined with emotions, memories, and personal identity ...

The line between collecting and hoarding isn’t always clear to the casual observer. While one person’s carefully curated vinyl record collection might occupy an entire room, another’s seemingly random ...

While hoarding behavior has traditionally been understood through psychological and environmental lenses, recent research suggests that epigenetics may play a significant role in the development and ...

Individuals who experience hoarding related to OCD may have distressing feelings about discarding items. It can drive compulsive saving behaviors that they recognize as excessive. Obsessive-compulsive ...

Hoarding didn’t originate with humans. Long before our population began stockpiling an almost unimaginable array of items, animals evolved similar behaviors, though possibly for different reasons.