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Hoarding Disorder

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Submitted By Jriddle89
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Hoarding Disorder VS. OCD
Jasmine Riddle
Professor Shawn Lee
Module2 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
April 16, 2016

Some disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are characterized by classic obsessions. Obsessions are repetitive, unwanted, and intrusive thoughts that trigger anxiety. In other disorders, such as BDD and hoarding disorder, the intrusive thoughts could be more aptly described as a persistent and unrelenting preoccupation. In the case of BDD, this preoccupation focuses on personal appearance and attractiveness. In the case of hoarding disorder, the preoccupation centers around possessions. The causes of Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders remain speculative. OCD may even be a heterogeneous set of disorders with different triggers and etiology (Thorpe, Bennett, Fried, & Nottingham, 2011).
OCD is characterized by a reduced ability of security-related behavior to terminate motivation evoked by potential danger, rather than a heightened initial sensitivity to potential threat. They lend support to the security-motivation theory of OCD (Szechtman & Woody, 2012) and have important implications both for research into the biological mechanisms underlying OCD and for the development of new treatment approaches.
The intrusive thoughts of people with hoarding disorder are associated with their preoccupation regarding their possessions; specifically, parting with, or losing these possessions. Unlike spontaneous OCD obsessions, intrusive hoarding thoughts and resultant anxiety are not usually activated until faced with the prospect of losing or parting with possessions.
People also report intrusive and repetitive thoughts surrounding the "need" to acquire a possession, and experience anxiety until that object is acquired. Ordinary, everyday situations can trigger someone's obsessional desire to acquire something.

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