ASD and Hoarding?

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Hmm.......it seems DSMV says it's not hoarding if it can be better explained by "restricted interests in autism spectrum disorder":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsive_hoarding

Pity they don't explain quite what they think the mechanism is by which ASD leads to hoarding - presumably it's intense interests that lead to collecting things on an industrial scale, and I guess it's likely that we'd be rather uninterested in much else outside of our special interests, which would make motivation to remove clutter hard to muster up. And I do think executive dysfunction plays a part. Certainly in me, I noticed many of my failures to organise and rationalise my stuff were down to a strong urge to do it all perfectly, which quickly became so ridiculously time-consuming that I just couldn't go on. In my case, I smell ASD.

This is somebody's attempt at diagnosis by pictures:

https://hoardinguk.org/wp-content/uploa ... atings.pdf

According to that test, I score low because my gangways are pretty clear and I keep most of my clutter in other rooms, not so much in the kitchen, bathroom and living room.

^ Love the visuals in the pdf.

My house is cluttered mostly at a level 2 on those pictures. Sometimes a 3, rarely a 1. My family criticizes me for it. My workspace is cluttered at mostly a 3 -- whether it's similar to ADHD or not, I'm definitely a need-to-see-it-to-remember-it. If I put everything neatly away, I'd have unused items and unpaid bills. It's painful for me to dispose of statements and receipts but I go by the IRS and Nike standards and Just Do It.

^
I was going to get some storage containers but was unable to choose between transparent and opaque. Transparent is functionally much better because as you say, it's so much easier when stuff is visible, but I felt the contents would look ugly, and as most of the problem for me with hoarding is visual, it would be spending money with little real benefit, so it still hasn't got done. I rely a lot on open shelves that I can make very cheaply from my hoard of wood.

The opposite of hoarding - anybody familiar with 'Compulsive Decluttering?'
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... ng/401591/

this seems to describe me. i am a compulsive de clutter-er

Some truth in there. I wish people were just practical about it, instead of going to one extreme or the other.