Hoarding, stockpiling, panic buying: What’s normal behavior in an abnormal time?

The issue first received attention when people piled up paper towels, toilet tissue, and hand sanitizer in their shopping carts at the start of the pandemic, leading some people to wonder whether they or a loved one were showing signs of hoarding disorder. Hoarding disorder goes beyond stockpiling in an emergency. Although often sensationalized in the popular press as a behavioral oddity, hoarding disorder is a serious psychiatric illness affecting more than 13 million American adults.