How Does A Person Become A Hoarder?
We hear a lot about hoarding these days especially with all the TV shows surrounding the now popular term. At ClutterBGone we get asked a lot why people hoard and how they become a hoarder. I thought we would take this opportunity to answer some of the questions we get asked.
What exactly is hoarding?
Hoarding was a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) however it’s now being studied as a mental health category on its own. Recent statistics estimate that one in four people with OCD are also hoarders. With these numbers more and more people are coming forward to open up about how hoarding is affecting all aspects of their lives.
What are the symptoms of hoarding?
There are many symptoms of hoarding, some of which apply to clutter in general.
Hoarders tend to live in cluttered spaces and have an inability to rid themselves of pretty much anything. You’ll see stacks and piles of everything from reading material to clothes scattered everywhere. A hoarder’s idea of cleaning up is to move a pile of something to a new spot without discarding anything. People with hoarding tendencies are more often than not procrastinators and have minimal social lives.
How can I help someone I know that is a hoarder?
Before attempting to assist anyone with hoarding tendencies you will need to educate yourself about hoarding. Hoarding may not make sense to you, but it’s a real mental heath issue and needs to be treated as such. Never remove any belongings of a hoarder. This can cause great emotional distress and could threaten your relationship with this loved one. You ultimately will lose their trust, this is something that is very important if you have any hope of helping the individual. Instead, see if they would like some assistance in organizing their belongings or better yet, help them find professional treatment.
What is the difference between hoarding and just plain clutter?
It may seem that there is a fine line between hoarding and clutter however when assessed properly you can understand the difference greatly. Hoarding falls under a category of mental health all on its own whereas clutter is actually a matter of sorting, purging and organizing. We all live with clutter at some point and can get through it ourselves or with professional help like ClutterBGone, but hoarders cannot get it done on their own at all. Think of it like this, having a messy home versus living in a home where you’ve lost most functionality.
I hope we have answered some of the questions we get asked quite a bit about hoarding. If you have any more that you need answered, or if you need any assistance in getting your clutter under control, just reach out to us here.