Plyushkin's disorder, also known as Hoarding Disorder, refers to the compulsive inability to discard possessions, leading to cluttered living spaces, distress, and functional impairment, named after the character Plyushkin from Nikolai Gogol's novel Dead Souls. It involves saving seemingly useless items due to a deep-seated need, unlike normal collecting, and can result in severe hygiene issues, fire hazards, and damaged relationships, officially recognized as a distinct psychiatric condition in the DSM-5.
Plyushkin syndrome
Today in Russia, the name "Plyushkin" is semi-humorously applied to people who collect and amass various useless things, a behavior known as compulsive hoarding.
not being able to manage the things you've collected, but still finding it very difficult to get rid of them. becoming extremely attached to the things you've collected. feeling the need to get more things, even if you have a lot already. having very strong positive feelings whenever you get more things.
Some researchers believe hoarding can relate to childhood experiences of losing things, not owning things, or people not caring for you. This might include experiences like: Money worries or experiencing poverty. Having your belongings taken or thrown away by someone.
The hoarders view their things as a safety net and have a different attachment to objects than non-hoarders. Taking away things without their input would be removing that safety net, creating further distrust of other people and worsening the situation.
The root cause of hoarding disorder isn't singular but a complex mix of genetics, brain function, traumatic life events (like loss or abuse), and underlying mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and OCD, with people often using items as coping mechanisms for emotional distress, difficulty making decisions, or a sense of needing control and security, often starting in adolescence and running in families.
In fact, if it's done without their consent, discarding the hoarder's possessions usually does more harm than good. The hoarder will likely be angry and resentful—damaging the relationship between you—and their process of accumulation will simply begin all over again.
Poor hygiene often signals underlying mental health issues like Depression, causing lack of motivation and energy, but also Anxiety, PTSD, Psychotic Disorders, and conditions like Diogenes Syndrome, which involve self-neglect, extreme clutter, and lack of shame, often linked to trauma, aging, or brain damage, making self-care feel overwhelming or irrelevant.
A novel mechanism by which childhood trauma impacts hoarding tendencies in adulthood is explored. In a large non-clinical sample, emotional abuse and physical neglect predicted hoarding symptoms. Hoarding symptoms were positively correlated with attachment anxiety and ambivalence.
South Carolina: the State With the Highest Percentage
When examining the prevalence of hoarding disorder in the United States, South Carolina stands out with a striking statistic: 50% of self-identified hoarders reside in the state.
It is characterised by social withdrawal, extreme self and house neglect, tendency to hoard any kind of objects/rubbish (syllogomania), and rejection against external help for lack of concern about one's condition.
When a person seems willing to talk about a hoarding problem, these guidelines may be useful to follow:
The 10-10 decluttering method is pretty simple — choose an area, set a timer for 10 minutes and get rid of 10 items in that space. "If you notice other items you don't need, remove them as well, but make sure to stick to the 10-minute timeframe," says professional organizer Tonia Tomlin of Sorted Out.
The medicines most commonly used are a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Research continues on the most effective ways to use medicines in the treatment of hoarding disorder.
Here are some of the key characteristics of people who hoard, their behavior patterns, potential triggers and the challenges they face.
For example, one of the most common reasons why people have messy homes is because of a lack of time. Others might be messy because there is a toddler in a home and it feels impossible to tidy up after them. Clearly, these practical explanations aren't symptoms of mental illness.
Jesus said that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Luke 12:15. Spiritual life can be choked out by clutter, which is part of “the cares and riches of this life.” Luke 8:14. God is pleased when we give things away cheerfully.