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Hoarder problem growing in Oklahoma
Local and state officials are at a loss to explain the recent increase in cases of compulsive hoarding, but say better cooperation is needed to spot the largely hidden phenomenon before it becomes deadly or causes a health risk to neighbors.
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Hoarding is the excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them. Hoarding often creates such cramped living conditions that homes may be filled to capacity, with only narrow pathways winding through stacks of clutter. Some people also collect animals, keeping pets in unsanitary conditions.
Hoarding, also called compulsive hoarding and compulsive hoarding syndrome, can be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, many people who hoard don’t have other OCD-related symptoms, and researchers are working to better understand hoarding as a distinct mental health problem.
In the homes of people who engage in compulsive hoarding, countertops, sinks, stoves, desks, stairways and virtually all other surfaces are usually stacked with things. People who hoard animals may collect dozens or even hundreds of pets. They usually hoard animals that can be confined inside and concealed more easily.
Clutter and difficulty discarding things are usually the first symptoms of hoarding. These early indications of a problem usually surface during the teenage years. As an affected person grows older, he or she typically starts acquiring things for which there is no need or space. By middle age — when the condition is usually diagnosed — symptoms are often severe and difficult to treat.
Source: Mayo Clinic
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