Is hording a mental illness?
821545
Sounds like Undifferentiated Schizophrenia and/or a severe case of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) given the severity of your family member's situation and the longevity of same.  Please know, I hope your family member can get some help; however, you cannot make that person seek out professional assistance.  I really feel for those who have such hoarding issues along with extreme social isolation...this person cannot be happy, and your family member sounds very "trapped" in her/his "illness".  Good question, and it's nice to know you have concern for your family member as most of society would shun this person due to the uncleanliness and social withdrawal.
396751
Here is an article about a psychologist diagnosed with schizophrenia- he also addresses the issues of professionals with mental illness.
827264
Whatever the cause they're correct. It isn't a mental illness. Eventually you may go mad, but it is an acquired perversity which can be dropped. When you introduce into the body toxic poisons and waste fluids in the body as with the type of activity that kind of life is known for, it attacks the entire body. Total breakdown. That's why it's called Acquired Immune Deficency Syndrome. You flooded the body with poison by that activity. It is not a sex act. You're not designed that way. The colon/rectal area is, simply put, the body's sewer system. Read what happened to Marat during the French Revolution. He escaped his enemies by hiding in the Paris sewers and contracted an incurable skin disease.
832497
Ever do drugs? \n\nI'd get a second opinion, if I were you...just in case. \n\nUnexplained mental problems are nothing to mess around with. This really is something that only a doctor should give you advice on, nobody here is qualified to give you a diagnosis regardless of their profession. It would be nothing but speculation and you really need to be checked out in person.
241146
To go back. or to a lower level. Like in mental illness.???
245227
you need to go to a doctor or a psychiatrist they can diagnose it.  It is a mental disorder
716251
Many people are afraid of Dr. Mental illness causes this to be even worse because a lot of mental illness has symptons of paranoia. Also high on the list of symptoms is lack of trust and low self esteem. Some Dr. do not help this condition because they have a GOD complex and are very aloof and do not volenteer any information not spacifically ask for. So If you have a problem ASK!!!!!!!! spacafic questions. What is the cause of this condition. how do you diognose this condition, What are the options in treatment, and what are the side effects of the medication? Be sure that you understand how when and why you are  taking meds also find out what you can do to increase your success rate with Diet and exercize. Also dig deep and let GOD help you. If your DR. acts hesitant to talk with you, or if he doesn't act like you and your family have the right to ask questions and make choises together. Then GET ANOTHER DR> FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is your illness and it effects you and all those that love you so Don/t suffer in silence and don't let your Dr. intimidate you or your family members with statements like Don't worry about the details I know what you need, or you worry about taking your meds and let me worry about your treatment, or if your are having diognostic test and the DR and other staff don't want to provide accomidations for consultations before and after with you and your family  or if they make remarks to your family like its no big deal there is no need for you to be here, they can call you when it is over ,then insist on having it done else where.It is high time that Dr. nurses, and hospitals be forsed to accept the need of the patient and their spouce or parent to be allowed access and contact at all times to lower the stress level of both patients and family members.
274712
Over the centuries and millenia, persons with mental disorders have been vilified and feared.  Persons with disorders have been drugged, locked away, chained to walls, shunned from society, killed, been used as experiments for brain exploration (such as holes drilled in their heads, lobotomys on their brains performed), etc.\n\nOnly in the recent decades has mental illness found a more receptive audience in the Medical Community as well as the General Public, with the recognition that many of the problems can be altered or treated with medications and social interventions.\n\nOne of the recent problems developing has been attempts by the Government to reduce the expense of caring for these sorts of individuals in large sequestered groups by attempting to place them into the community.  OStensibly this was supposed to make life better for them, but, in fact, has made things worse since there are fewer interventions available and less direct supervision.\n\nMany of these individuals have committed crimes (whether intentional or not) and have simply been moved from close supervision in Facilities to Prisons and Jails.. a different sort of institution but with basically the same sorts of controls they need to function with their limitations.\n\nUntil the government realizes that there is an actual and real need for sequestering for safely and monitoring, persons will continue to get lost in between the cracks.\n\nMy sons are both Autistic, and the strides made even in the last decade has been remarkable.
982238
no such correlation to mental disease
369620
No it is not, maybe your problem is mental, you need a right diagnose, so get a doctor.
754661
Dude, you may have a serious psychiatric condition.  Seek help.
529907
this sounds like another name for schizophrenia-mental health comes out with more and more disorders eveyday.Hey,sorry I don't have it but why don't you talk to your counselor about it?
401319
You're not describing mental illness.  You are describing assholism.\n\nMental illness is disturbed behavior in a specific, recognized pattern that is clearly identifiable and the same from person to person with the same disease.  More importantly, specific treatments tend to make the behavior better when applied to anyone who has been identified as having the specific mental illness.  The most common mental illnesses in society are depression, anxiety and eating disorders.  Clearly identifiable and reliably treatable are what identify mental illnesses.\n\nAssholism, on the other hand, is a moral issue.  The person is normal.  Problems are with attitudes, philosophies and beliefs.  Often, the person takes advantage of our overly cultured and non-violent society to get away with behaviors that 50 years ago would have resulted in him getting an extreme beating.  The best way to deal with this is to ostracize them.
317568
Mistaken? Deluded? Mentally ill?
6271
No any mental health disorder can not be just given to someeone like the common cold. Mental disoders are chemical inbalances of the brain, its not a germ. There are lots of websites that can clearly tell you all about bi polar and other mental disorders just use the yahoo search engine
392938
You are suffering from a severe case of hypochondrias.
586070
"Mental illness" is much to broad a term for an answer to be possible.  Some indeed may have a higher, rather than lower, level of consciousness than so-called normal people.  You never know, do you?  Not really.  You cannot know what is going on in anyone else's mind, and psychology does not gain my trust when it pretends it does know.