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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34687 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 146 pages

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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Publisher
Readers learn to:

· Differentiate between hoarding and collecting

· Recognize their type of hoarder

· Overcome the fear that causes one to hoard

· Stop the clutter from taking over

Three compulsive hoarding experts team up to provide the first research-based cognitive behavioral treatment plan to help compulsive hoarders learn to recognize the problem, understand the treatment options, and learn gentle techniques to free themselves of this life-threatening disorder. The first book ever written for compulsive hoarders and their friends and families. This book is written by the foremost researchers and clinicians working with compulsive hoarders

From the Inside Flap
"Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding is an excellent resource for those who suffer from compulsive hoarding behavior. I am most grateful to the authors who have undertaken a most challenging task. This sorely needed book is clearly and compassionately written. The authors demonstrate a firm grasp of the subject matter while providing a wealth of practical information. It is a remarkable achievement." —Janet Lessem, CSW, MSW, associate clinical professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University

Customer Reviews

I'm someone that hoards.
As someone who hoards along with her mother, this book is a tremendous help in understanding the problem, and provides assistance in helping to alleviate the compulsive hoarding.

As advertised within the book, THE BOOK NEVER MAKES YOU FEEL BAD about your problem.

I higly recommend this book to anyone who has a compulsive hoarding problem or is a packrat of sorts.

My living situation is improving based on my reading this book. Soon I'll have the whole coach cleaned off and will be able to enjoy sitting and watching TV for once in years.

I grew up in a dysfunctional family where we never had any company because you could not walk through the house and it was so embarassing. I can remember as far back as age 13 (now 46), when the house was a mess thanks to my mother. How depressing. Never had friends over, never had a birthday party for me or most of my other siblings. We, as children, were miserable and had a rotten childhood because of my mom's problem which I inherited or learned to some degree.

Again, this book never makes you feel like you're an idiot or psychotic for having a problem. The book is supportive and very informative. I haven't finished reading it yet, but an half way through and already I am empowered to clean up and do the right thing. I hope I can keep the house clean from now on and not hoard anymore. I use to be a dumpster diver - literally.

A useful book
Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save & How You Can Stop (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) As a "recovering" hoarder, I found this book useful and helpful. I even bought a second copy for a friend who is also trying to come to grips with the problem.
It is an easy read and it's full of insights. Besides that, it takes up very little space!

digging out of a mountain
Compulsive hoarding is a dirty little secret in America. If you have a friend or family member who will never allow you into their home, that is a big red flag warning you that they are afflicted with this disorder.
Someone who cannot bear to part with anything someone else would consider minor, such as junk mail, twist ties, broken pens and pencils--to the point there are literally hundreds or thousands of such items and it affects their ability to walk through their living space is a compulsive hoarder.
Everyone has a bit of the pack rat in them, this book helps the person, and especially the families of such individuals, identify this disorder and gives a method of dealing with the consequences.