Helping your loved one recover from hoarding should be your #1 priority. Here’s what you need to know.
Hoarding disorder is a mental health condition characterized by persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions regardless of their actual value.
This can lead to clutter that disrupts daily life. Since it’s such an extreme issue, many people wonder if there is really treatment available.
People who live with a hoarding disorder struggle every day. They struggle to maintain a safe environment for themselves as well as their loved ones. It’s why professional help is vital
But most people dealing with compulsive hoarding are hesitant to seek help.
There could be a number of reasons for that. Some may simply be unaware of the treatment available for this disorder. However, many others are deeply afraid to confront the issue.
After all, treatment for hoarding disorder isn’t like treatment for most other mental health issues.
To fix a hoarding disorder, you have to completely change the way you live.
This can be incredibly difficult for most people to undertake alone. So, is there a cure for hoarding disorder? It’s not that black and white. But there is hope to develop healthier habits and work towards living a safe, clutter-free life.
What causes a person to become a hoarder?
Hoarding disorder is a mental health condition characterized by persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions regardless of their actual value.
This can lead to clutter that disrupts daily life. Since it’s such an extreme issue, many people wonder if there is really treatment available.
People who live with a hoarding disorder struggle every day. They struggle to maintain a safe environment for themselves as well as their loved ones. It’s why professional help is vital
But most people dealing with compulsive hoarding are hesitant to seek help.
There could be a number of reasons for that. Some may simply be unaware of the treatment available for this disorder. However, many others are deeply afraid to confront the issue.
After all, treatment for hoarding disorder isn’t like treatment for most other mental health issues.
To fix a hoarding disorder, you have to completely change the way you live.
This can be incredibly difficult for most people to undertake alone. So, is there a cure for hoarding disorder? It’s not that black and white. But there is hope to develop healthier habits and work towards living a safe, clutter-free life.
Types of hoarding disorder
Hoarding disorder exists on a spectrum and manifests itself in a variety of ways. Depending on the specific situation, different people will exhibit different hoarding tendencies.
There are as many different kinds of hoarders as there are things to hoard, and each has its own unique reasons for what attachments develop.
Unfortunately, hoarders are often stereotyped by what is commonly seen on television. You know the type: the old woman who has a room stacked full of newspapers and bags of trash and old newspapers that she claims she is going to read someday.
This does happen sometimes. But the reality of hoarding is a lot more complex.
Hoarders can have many different faces. The most common type of hoarding has to do with the inability to throw away items that are not needed.
This type of hoarder will often have a lot of sentimental value attached to their items, and they will not be able to part with them even if they have no use for them. This is what most people think of when they think of hoarders.
You will also see hoarders who are unable to organize and categorize their items, and this causes them to have a lot of things that are junk and not useful.
Some hoarders collect a specific item, such as magazines or old electronics.
Other hoarders may collect a certain type of item, like paper products, clothing, or food. Many hoarders will collect items that would otherwise be considered junk, like empty boxes, trash, and even broken appliances.
In extreme cases, hoarders may even collect animals, such as cats or dogs.
Regardless of the type of items that are being collected, hoarders tend to collect a lot of them, often to the point that they can’t even use the things they have collected. They may even begin to collect items that don’t have any value.
Getting to know the type of hoarding that your loved one is struggling with is the key to helping them overcome the problem.
Is there really a cure for hoarding disorder?
Hoarding disorder is a type of mental illness that manifests itself in the acquisition of, and inability to discard, items that would otherwise be considered worthless. This doesn’t just apply to physical objects though.
Many hoarders cling on to ideas and concepts as well, and may even have a hard time letting go of thoughts. Hoarders typically suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, or other mental illnesses.
It can be challenging to get treatment for hoarding because many people don’t recognize they have a problem. Or, they don’t believe that they need to receive treatment.
This is especially true in cases where the items are helpful to the person hoarding, or if they provide sentimental comfort in some way.
If these belongings are taken away, people with hoarding disorder will often react with frustration and anger and quickly collect more to take its place filling those needs for items that help them feel better about themselves.
Because of these extreme circumstances, fixing hoarding disorder can be very difficult. But there is hope. Working with a professional to clean up and get compassionate care is an effective solution for most people who are able to stick to a consistent program.
Since hoarding is considered a mental illness, many people choose not to seek a cure for hoarding itself. Instead, they turn to therapy to help them work through their underlying issues.
Working with both a mental health professional and hoarding cleaning professional can be truly impactful in helping someone turn their life around for the better.
Can hoarding cause health problems?
You may think that the health risks associated with hoarding are all about the conditions of the home. It is true that the risk of injury through tripping and falling on the clutter is a concern.
However, when it comes to hoarding the health risks can run much deeper than a few bruises.
For starters, many of the things that hoarders collect may be poisonous or contain toxic chemicals. This could be paint thinner, gasoline, or other flammable substances.
These things may even make breathing at all a health risk.
Hoarders will often have bed bugs and other pests hiding in their stuff as well. Pest infestations can lead to infection. They can also cause you incredibly costly extermination fees – and that’s if an exterminator will even step foot inside the home.
If the items being hoarded get wet and mold starts to grow, it can create a health hazard for everyone living in the house. But fire hazards are the biggest danger of all.
Not only are hoarders at an increased risk of fire due to the massive clutter accumulating in their homes, but they are also much harder to rescue. Hoarder homes are usually completely blocked off by the belongings they collect.
This can make it impossible for emergency responders to access the home, and the results could be fatal.
How to help your loved ones who have hoarding disorder?
When you have a loved one who is struggling with a hoarding disorder, it can be hard to know what to do to fix things. You might feel strongly about throwing it all away, but that is not the right approach. Getting their involvement in the decision-making for every item is crucial.
Staging an aggressive intervention will just make this worse.
It could trigger an even more extreme hoarding episode and do more harm than good. You never want to make your loved ones feel like they are under attack.
Convincing them to work together with you may take time, but it is the only way to nurture effective long-lasting results.
Recovering from hoarding takes consistent treatment – not just one day of cleaning up.
Involving your loved ones in every step of the process will help them develop better decision-making skills for future situations. If you barge in and try to take control, it can make them feel like you don’t care about their opinion.
They may feel angry, upset, or even ashamed. Sending them to therapy or throwing things away isn’t enough. You need consistent action and a compassionate attitude.
Why use a professional hoarding cleanup service?
When you work with a professional, you prepare yourself with a great support system. A trained and experienced hoarding cleaning expert will know exactly what to do to get you on track.
The right service can help you clean up the home much more quickly than by yourself. It can also help put your loved one on the path to long-term recovery.
Home Clean Home has been serving the community in NYC and beyond for almost 30 years.
We develop personalized plans for every person that we help, and we never make any decisions about their belongings without their express permission.
Our team will help you create a strategy for the future while helping you transform the home.
There is nothing we haven’t seen. No matter what the situation, we have a solution.
Call us today for a free consultation: 718 627 5781