Digging out: Can we help people with hoarding disorder? With Mary E. Dozier, PhD

Speaking of Psychology

Kim Mills

Health & Fitness, Life Sciences, Science, Mental Health

4.3 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hoarding disorder affects about 2 percent of the population and is more common among older adults. Psychologist Mary E. Dozier, PhD, talks about the causes of hoarding disorder, its links to other mental health disorders, why many people who hoard are highly altruistic, and how a values-based intervention can help them – and others who struggle with clutter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Adobe Express is the quick and easy Create Anything app.
0:05.0	It has taken my content to the next level,
0:08.0	making it simple to create everything I need to promote my business.
0:11.0	From Instagram and TikTok posts to logos and flyers,
0:15.0	all in just a few clicks.
0:17.0	Build your brand with Adobe Express.
0:20.0	Search for Adobe Express to find out more and get the app for free.
0:23.9	Adobe Express, the quick and easy create anything app.
0:30.7	If you've ever had to clean out someone's home after they died,
0:34.9	you probably discovered that people save strange and random things. I recently helped
0:40.5	clear out my dad's home and found, for example, the sales contract for the house he bought in
0:45.5	1957, my late mother's violin dating to her years in high school, and all my and my brother's
0:52.0	elementary school report cards.
0:59.5	These are things that made sense from a sentimental viewpoint, and they didn't take up a lot of space.
1:07.2	But what about people who save huge quantities of things with no apparent value that have no sentimental meaning,
1:10.1	and in the eyes of most people, will be trash. Can saving too much stuff be pathological?
1:14.9	Where is the line between being a messy housekeeper and having a hoarding disorder? What drives some people
1:21.8	to save enormous quantities of indiscriminate things? And is such behavior merely a manifestation of something like
1:29.2	obsessive-compulsive disorder, or is it a discrete mental illness?
1:35.5	Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association
1:40.7	that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.
1:45.3	I'm Kim Mills.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Kim Mills, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Kim Mills and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.