Has your loved one, before Alzheimer's was diagnosed, always been a bit of a pack rat, someone who believed in "saving for a rainy day" or "waste not want not?" Or, as younger versions of themselves, did they like to collect things, such as dolls, coins, and other items considered valuable and enjoyable? If so, you could start to see the "collector" take that behavior to the extreme, which is sometimes called hoarding.
For example, an elderly woman with Alzheimer's may like to collect tissues because they are soft. Her caregiver begins to find tissues stuffed in pockets, purses, couches, closets, even the bathtub. Another person collects ties from bread bags. And yet another refuses to throw anything away, resulting in piles of junk lying around the house that could easily be tripped over.
Compulsive hoarding is a psychological disorder often seen in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. If hoarding begins to interfere with everyday activities and life, it is considered pathological hoarding.
When Collectors Become Hoarders
Someone's pre-Alzheimer's personality may trigger hoarding behavior in the disease. For example, someone who was already prone to experiencing anxiety, when faced with aging and the possibility of outliving their resources, may begin to collect and save against the onslaught of feeling overwhelmed by what lies ahead.
Many times hoarding does demonstrate a need for comfort because of the deep fears and anxiety experienced by some patients.
Others will hold on to items because they fear their memories will be lost without that tangible evidence of the past. As Alzheimer's patients lose track of what is going on in the present, those items could become more and more important.
Hoarding behavior is most likely due to insecurity, anger, and confusion as brain function is decreasing. In addition a person with Alzheimer's or dementia may take things that aren't theirs because they like it for the comfort, memories, or because it calms those fears and anxieties.
Confusion Can Cause Hoarding
Sometimes, people with Alzheimer's or dementia hoard not out of a need to collect things, but rather out of confusion about how to handle a particular situation.
For example, what looks like a messy pile of mail may be the result of your loved one losing the capacity for sequential tasking. It's important for their well being to sit with them and go through those stacks. Don't let things such as utility bills go unpaid. Help them with the process of looking at bills, writing the checks, and getting them mailed.
A senior may stockpile medications because they forget why they are taking them, or don't remember how much to take. Due to embarrassment, rather than ask for help, they hide the medication away somewhere.