Q; What is a Hoarder?

A; A person who accumulates things and hides them away for future use even if the objects may appear to have limited or no value to others. For instance, a hoarder may have newspaper clippings from decades ago that don't involve them or anyone they know; yet they hesitate to discard them because they feel they may need them someday, or someone else might. The reasons hoarders need to hold on to materials vary, from being sentimentally attached or having a sense that the object has utility and you don't want to waste it and in return clutter become's a normal way of life.

At first glance, hoarders may be viewed as unkempt, uncaring slobs. Not the case, say Saxena and Frost. They describe some traits that may be surprising:

* An urge to acquire. Some hoarders may be shoppers; others masters of finding freebies or near-freebies, from coupons to garage-sale bargains. For some, the "stuff" gives them comfort. Others may form emotional attachments to the items.

* Perfectionism. "It doesn't seem to fit at first," Frost says. But consider the thinking pattern of a typical hoarder: When faced with a pile of stuff, the first thought in deciding to clear it out, Frost says, is often this: "If I throw this away, I might be making a mistake." Saxena agrees, saying that hoarders often tell him: "I can't do any task unless I do it perfectly." Faced with towering stacks of newspapers, for instance, they think there is no way they can do an outstanding job -- so they don't even start.

* Indecision and avoidance. Hoarders also tend to have trouble making decisions -- to throw it out or not? -- and so the clutter accumulates. Suppose an empty shoe box is found in the midst of closet cleaning. A non-hoarder may dump it without thinking twice, reasoning that the shoes, if they even still have them, are on a shoe rack or on the closet floor. But Frost finds a hoarder's thinking process often is different. A hoarder might think: "But it could hold something else. Maybe I should save it for bills." Then indecision may creep in. "Maybe my bills won't fit," the hoarder may think. More indecision. "My cousin does a lot of eBay business and he needs boxes, so I better save it." Saxena says, "Saving stuff is an avoidance behavior. You don't need to decide whether to throw it away."

* A sense of responsibility. Some hoarders loathe to waste anything and feel guilty about throwing things away. They feel like a bad person, they often tell Frost, if they are wasteful. For others, including Paula Kotakis, a sense of responsibility can keep them in cluttered surroundings. Why does she tend to hold on to printed materials? "Someone might need this information someday," she says was her rationale. "And I'm responsible for providing it."

What can help hoarders let go? Cognitive behavioral therapy, in which they are taught how to change their behaviors, prescription medication, or both. Behavioral therapy focuses on, among other issues, tolerating the urge to acquire without acting on it. Frost says. A hoarder might be driven by a store, but not allowed to shop. Next, the patient and therapist go back to the store and go in, but still do not shop. The idea is to teach them that it is ok to walk away from an item and still feel good about it.