Chronic Disorganization
Chronic Disorganization is different from Situational Disorganization, which is usually the temporary result of a life transition.
According to Judith Kolberg, the defining features of Chronic Disorganization are:
- Chronic, severe disorganization that has persisted over a long period of time, often the majority of one’s adult life, and is prone to continuing into the future.
- Disorganization that undermines one’s quality of life on a daily basis.
- A history of failed self-help efforts.
She also states that Chronically Disorganized individuals commonly display the following characteristics:
- Accumulations of large quantities of possessions or papers beyond apparent usefulness or pleasure
- A high degree of difficulty or discomfort letting go of things
- A wide range of interests, unfinished projects, and incomplete tasks
- Reliance on visual cues like paper piles or stacks of things as reminders to take action
- A tendency to be easily distracted or to lose concentration
- A tendency to lose track of time
For further details, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) offers a number of free fact sheets on their website, including Common Characteristics of Chronically Disorganized Individuals and Causes of Chronic Disorganization.
Hoarding
The word “hoarding” refers to behaviours ranging from mere messiness to extreme clutter that interfere with a person’s day-to-day functioning. When the amount of clutter becomes a threat to health and safety, it is considered Clinical Hoarding or Compulsive Hoarding.
The definition of Compulsive Hoarding, according to Randy Frost and Gail Steketee, is:
- Acquisition of and failure to discard possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value.
- Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were originally designed.
- Significant distress of impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding that adversely affects their quality of life.
Compulsive Hoarding is typically associated with specific mental health conditions, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the draft of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), Hoarding Disorder is listed as a separate diagnosis.
The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) has created the Clutter Hoarding Scale to assist in assessing the different levels of hoarding.
