New York, December 10 (ANI): Hoarding will be getting a new definition in the "bible" of psychiatry and experts claim it may bring much-needed help to the millions of people who are dealing with the disorder.
According to NBC News, the psychological condition, which made famous by reality television, has long been considered a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder but the latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will completely separate the two.
"Hoarding disorder" will now be defined as "persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value."
Randy Frost, a Smith College professor of psychology who studies hoarding issues, said that the new diagnosis will ease people's "access to treatment."
"Right now, there are very few clinicians who know how to treat it," the New York Daily News quoted Frost as saying.
"Once it shows up in DSM, there will be much more pressure on clinicians to train in how to treat this problem," he said.
Hoarding doesn't just mean a home filled with junk, and according to the APA those with the condition as well as their families suffer negative social, emotional and physical effects to the point where there is a disruption of normal life.
The new definition will go into effect in May 2013, when the DSM-5 is officially published.
Other changes in the DSM-V include the elimination of Asperger's syndrome and a new entry for "disruptive mood dysregulation disorder," which is characterized by abnormally severe and repeated temper tantrums. (ANI)