The Scottish Sun

Edinburgh man who began hoarding after suffering mental breakdown reveals he ‘dreads’ throwing anything out.

Experts say compulsively collecting and saving objects dramatically impacts a person’s life, with an estimated 200,000 Scots affected.

If not treated properly, hoarding simply gets worse and often leads to fear, loneliness and isolation.

Hoarder David Woods’s life began to spiral out of control when he began stashing books, DVDs and magazines.

The youth worker, 49, from Edinburgh, has been obsessively collecting items for more than 20 years after suffering a breakdown in 1998.

David says: “Hoarding often comes hand-in-hand with other mental illnesses.

“I was suffering from depression and anxiety and collecting items became a bit of a safety net for me.

“There’s a kind of emotional connection with stuff and there’s almost a fear element to throwing anything out.

“Some of the time you couldn’t move when you went into a room. For me there was a difficulty in selecting what I could get rid of.

“It can be quite extreme for a lot of people. People have a feeling that they can’t get rid of something and it builds up from there.”