Publication (142 pages).

Hoarding as
a medical
construction
The medical construction of hoarding is the most popular and
well-known construction of hoarding today; most of the published
literature on hoarding exists in themedical sphere, and
many people associate hoarding with mental health problems.
This perspective of t One of the most important aspects of this
construction is a process called medicalization.
Medicalization “describes a process by which non-medical
problems become defined and treated as medical problems,
usually in terms of illness and disorders”.
Medicalization is a term created to explain the increase of
medical explanations for human behaviours. Medicalization
“describes a process by which non-medical problems become
defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illness
and disorders”. The past thirty years has seen an increase in
‘syndromes’ described by the medical community; however it is
important to question if there are more health disorders being
discovered, or if regularly occurring behaviours and situations
are being placed into a medical context. It has been suggested
that the public’s tolerance of mild symptoms has decreased,
making previously uncomfortable maladies into chronic diseases.
While the process of medicalization is not an exact science,
it is believed certain support structures aid in the development
of a medical classification. These include medical professionals,
medical insurance providers, individuals who promote or
challenge changes in medical definitions, and the availabili-
Medicalisation p.I
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