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Compulsive shopping, hoarding, EUPD , maybe autism

7 replies

Helpforahoarder · 04/07/2026 20:52

Just letting out a bit of steam, don’t know if anyone has been through this and can offer any small nuggets of help.

as in the title relative has EUPD, potentially Autistic. Massively complex MH history going back years.

one of their parents died last year, was their preferred parent to confide in.

They have alcohol / painkiller issues on top of the MH. Have also spent quite a bit when in a bad way.

they are currently spending £600 a month in charity shops, this makes the hoarding situation even worse, obviously. Not sure quite how bad as they won’t let me in the house. The problem is they are rapidly running out of money - only income is benefits. They had quite a substantial savings cushion which is nearly gone.

i have asked them
to give me their card so i can control money they have access to and they have refused. Other parent cannot give them any money, i possible could but tbh I won’t while they are spending £600 a month on crap and probably another couple of hundred on food which just sits in bags and goes off.

they started a compulsive spenders group last week but imagine that will take some while to kick in. They have a support worker but the only help from them was to get relative to agree to only buy 4 items a day, as you can imagine that’s done bigger all.

I feel So frustrated, I’m a fixer but they refuse all help full stop from me. Well they only thing they want is me to sell all the crap they have bought but I have a full on job and do not have time, I have offered to show them how to use Vinted, eBay etc so they do that themselves. But they prefer to put the responsibility into everyone else, they already ask other to store things as they don’t have room. They buy me stuff I don’t want and didn’t ask for which I have now given back and made clear I don’t want them buying me anything. They are lonely and like the interaction with the peolle in the charity shop I think.

in around 3-4 months at this rate they will be out of all money and exceeding their overdraft.

OP posts:
kateluvscats · 04/07/2026 21:16

Just out of curiosity, is your relative taking a dopamine agonist (taken for restless legs and Parkinson's disease? 1 in 6 people on this medication have addictions, gambling, alcohol, sex, shopping etc

Helpforahoarder · 04/07/2026 21:27

kateluvscats · 04/07/2026 21:16

Just out of curiosity, is your relative taking a dopamine agonist (taken for restless legs and Parkinson's disease? 1 in 6 people on this medication have addictions, gambling, alcohol, sex, shopping etc

Ah…I have read about that. I will ask, they literally take a zillion types of medication every day so although I don’t think so, it is possible.

they have hoarded for years, I think it’s probably just that their MH has got so bad they are using this as an escape.

OP posts:
Helpforahoarder · 10/07/2026 14:51

kateluvscats · 04/07/2026 21:16

Just out of curiosity, is your relative taking a dopamine agonist (taken for restless legs and Parkinson's disease? 1 in 6 people on this medication have addictions, gambling, alcohol, sex, shopping etc

Thanks for this - although I had heard of it as she doesn’t have Parkinson’s I had discounted it. It turns out one of her anti psychotics is on the list.

she has also recently had an increase in one of those drugs (she’s on a number of them) I have advised her to speak to her GP about this. Thank you for pointing me in this direction.

OP posts:
RoseField1 · 10/07/2026 14:56

Why do you feel responsible for her wellbeing?

Itshotinherebutainttakingoffmyclothes · 10/07/2026 15:42

If you know who her GP is you can ring them and leave a message expressing your concerns. The GP can’t tell you anything but they listen to what you say.

Superscientist · 10/07/2026 16:20

Do they go to the same charity shops? Could you approach them in a gentle way to make them aware of the situation, they probably couldn't stop her making purchases but it could make sure that volunteers aren't encouraging more spending.

The combination of alcohol and painkillers and the shopping and hoarding to me looks like jigsaw pieces of one large picture and joined up support is needed. Whether that is addiction and coping methods or whether it's dopamine seeking behaviours that are triggering the behaviour would be things I'd be discussing with their doctors. If neurodiversity is a possibility it might be worth also looking at whether there are any aspects of ADHD as well. Another angle to look at given the eupd is a mental illness angle and whether there is any signs of hypomania and that driving the behaviour

Helpforahoarder · 10/07/2026 18:09

Superscientist · 10/07/2026 16:20

Do they go to the same charity shops? Could you approach them in a gentle way to make them aware of the situation, they probably couldn't stop her making purchases but it could make sure that volunteers aren't encouraging more spending.

The combination of alcohol and painkillers and the shopping and hoarding to me looks like jigsaw pieces of one large picture and joined up support is needed. Whether that is addiction and coping methods or whether it's dopamine seeking behaviours that are triggering the behaviour would be things I'd be discussing with their doctors. If neurodiversity is a possibility it might be worth also looking at whether there are any aspects of ADHD as well. Another angle to look at given the eupd is a mental illness angle and whether there is any signs of hypomania and that driving the behaviour

The tendency has always been there but the amount of purchases / spending has jumped dramatically in the last 3/4 months, this does make me think the medication link is worth investigating.

That said it could just be a result to the bereavement last year - it did start coming up to Mother’s Day which obviously would be a trigger.

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