家中衣物堆积如山，仿佛生活在垃圾堆里，但哪一样也舍不得扔，而且仿佛永远也停不下来囤积的脚步……这并不是自理能力差或者犯懒，其实这也是一种病。上个月，世界卫生组织将囤积症单独列为一种精神疾病。来看看英国《每日邮报》对一位患者的采访故事。

 Many of us struggle to part with treasured belongings, but for years Stephanie Evans felt compelled to hang on to just about everything she’d ever bought.

我们很多人都不愿舍弃一些珍贵的物品，但多年以来，斯蒂芬妮-埃文斯总觉得必须把买回来的没见东西都留下来。

As a result her hallway and living room were crammed with towering stacks of books and magazines. Her bedroom, meanwhile, was so full of piles of clothes that, until recently, she had to sleep on the sofa in the living room.

结果就是，她家的门厅和客厅塞满了高高摞起的书本杂志，卧室里的衣服堆积如山，最近她不得不睡在客厅沙发上。

‘I hated the way the clutter made me feel but I just couldn’t throw anything away —even if something broke I couldn’t part with it,’ says Stephanie, 51, a teaching assistant from Birmingham.

51岁的斯蒂芬妮是伯明翰的一名助教。她说：“我讨厌周围乱七八糟的感觉，但我就是没办法扔掉任何一样东西，即使有些东西已经坏掉了，我也不想扔。”

‘I just told myself I needed more shelves and storage space and that one day I would sort it all out. Family would sometimes help me clear it, but I would fill the space again and this left me feeling even more of a failure.’

“我只是告诉自己，我需要更多的架子和储物空间，总有一天我能整理好。家人有时会帮我清理，但我会再一次把家里塞满，这让我感觉很失败。”

Stephanie, who is divorced, has a daughter aged 28, and only close family and friends had any idea of her problem as she ensured she always looked immaculate when she left for work.

斯蒂芬妮离异，有一个28岁的女儿。只有亲朋好友知道她有囤积症，因为她出门上班时总能把自己收拾得干净利落。

 ‘When I stepped outside the front door, no one would have guessed that I was living in such chaos,’ she says. ‘It was like I was leading a double life. But I dreaded having to go back to the flat at the end of the day.’

她说：“我走出家门之后，没人会想到我生活在垃圾堆里。感觉我像是在过双重生活。但每天下班时我都很害怕回家。”

Stephanie suffers from hoarding disorder, thought to affect an estimated 3.4 million people in the UK to some degree.

斯蒂芬妮患有囤积症。据估计，英国有340万人不同程度地受到囤积症的影响。

But, like many, she didn’t think it was something doctors would treat, so she didn’t seek help.

但就像很多人那样，斯蒂芬妮并不认为这是需要医生治疗的症状，所以她从未就医。

In fact, hoarding is a recognized medical disorder — previously classed as a type of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), where people repeat certain behaviors or thoughts. But last month hoarding was recognized as a psychiatric disorder in its own right by the World Health Organisation.

其实，囤积是医学上确认的失调症状，之前曾被归类为强迫症（重复某种行为或想法）的一种。但就在上月，世界卫生组织将其单独列为一种精神疾病。

 Hoarding disorder is defined as having an excessive number of items, having persistent difficulty throwing possessions away and storing them in a chaotic manner, to such an extent that this interferes with everyday living and causes significant distress or affects quality of life.

囤积症的定义是，拥有的物品数量过多、一直很难扔掉物品以及杂乱地囤积物品，且到达了扰乱日常生活的程度，造成严重的痛苦或影响到生活质量。

Those affected will collect anything, such as clothes, newspapers, photos, even printouts of emails, till receipts and grass cuttings, says Dr Stuart Whomsley, an NHS clinical psychologist who practises in Corby, Northamptonshire.

在（英国）北安普敦郡的科比工作的英国国民保健体系临床心理学家斯图亚特-霍姆斯里博士说，囤积症患者会囤积任何东西，比如衣服、报纸、照片，甚至打印出的电邮、收据和碎草屑。

While some hang on to pretty much everything they have, others collect specific items. ‘Hoarders fear making the wrong decision about what to keep and what to throw out, so they keep everything,’ says Dr Whomsley.

一些囤积症患者什么都囤，还有一些则囤积特定的物品。“什么该留什么该扔，囤积症患者害怕做出错误的决定，所以他们囤积所有的物品。”

‘It is a psychological condition and not a lifestyle choice,’ he adds. ‘It can be associated with other mental health conditions such as depression and social anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or OCD.’

他补充说：“这是一种心理学病症，而不是一种生活方式。囤积症可能与其他的精神疾病有关，比如抑郁症、社交焦虑症、注意力缺陷多动症、创伤后应激障碍或者强迫症。”

Hoarders may also have perfectionist tendencies, be prone to procrastination and have problems planning and organizing.

囤积狂也可能有完美主义倾向，易患拖延症，无法做到有条不紊。

 ‘Many of those affected will have had hoarding tendencies since childhood but living with their parents or a partner meant that it wasn’t allowed to get out of hand,’ says Dr Whomsley.

霍姆斯里博士说：“很多患有囤积症的人打小就喜欢囤积物品，但和父母或伴侣一起居住意味着情况还不至于失控。”

‘The most common time for it to come to a head is when people are middle-aged or older and living alone.’ The condition is often triggered by a traumatic event such as a bereavement or divorce.

“一般这些人到中年以后或开始独居时会失控。”囤积症常由创伤事件引发，比如丧亲或者离异。

‘One theory is that having experienced loss in the past, a person is primed to resist any further losses, hence their reluctance to part with things,’ adds Dr Whomsley. Hoarding can have far-reaching effects on a person’s life. Heather Matuozzo, who runs the Clouds End hoarders support group in Solihull, West Midlands, says people can lose their children and their homes due to hoarding.

霍姆斯里博士补充说：“一种理论认为，如果一个人在过去经历过失去，那么他在今后就不愿失去任何东西，所以就无法扔掉东西。”囤积症可能对一个人的生活产生深远影响。希瑟-马拓佐说，人们可能因为囤积症与孩子和家人分开。希瑟-马拓佐在英国西米德兰兹郡经营“云端”囤积症支持机构。

‘It can be very serious and yet people with this condition don’t get much sympathy as it is seen as self-inflicted rather than an illness. Hopefully, that will now change.’

“囤积症可能会很严重，但囤积症患者得不到多少同情，因为人们认为这是他们自己造成的，而不是一种病。希望人们能改变这种看法。”

 Treatment options include a mix of phased decluttering and psychological therapies, including individual and group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a talking therapy to encourage people to think about their reactions to everyday events differently.

囤积症的疗法包括分阶段进行的多种整理操作和心理治疗，比如个人和群体认知行为疗法、通过谈话疗法鼓励人们从不同的角度看待他们对日常事件的反应等。

Clearing out someone’s cluttered house is rarely effective on its own, says Dr Whomsley.

霍姆斯里博士说，清理杂乱的房间本身很难奏效。

‘That won’t solve the problem because they will just fill it up again, and there’s nearly always an underlying psychological cause that needs addressing,’ he says.

他说：“这解决不了问题，因为他们会把房间再次塞满，而且总是有潜在的心理问题需要解决。”