A Look into Hoarding

29 Jan A Look into Hoarding

Do you have a family member who uncontrollably collects different items that are useless? Do the items that they collect cause obstruction and clutter in your living space?

If your answer is “yes” to both questions, you might have a family member who is a hoarder.

Hoarding goes beyond the mere collection of items because there is an underlying psychological imbalance inside the person’s head.

Here are some facts about hoarding that you need to be aware of. These details will be useful when dealing with a hoarder in the family:

• The cause of hoarding is still not yet determined and this behavior is still being studied by doctors. Although hoarding has had a lot of exposure lately through the media, not many things are known about this pathological behavior.
• Hoarding is often linked to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD and many doctors say that hoarding is a manifestation of OCD. But according to studies, hoarders may or may not have other symptoms of OCD.
• People who hoard different items always deny that they have a problem. This is why helping them is not an easy task. Unless they will be able to accept the fact that they have this condition, the treatment will never be effective. Hiring an extreme cleaning service will not be enough if the hoarder is not willing to seek help.
• You can easily identify a collector from a hoarder because hoarders gather and keep different items that have little to no value and they do not give importance to the state of the items that they keep. Collectors are very keen on preserving the quality of their collectibles. The collection of random items can start small but they can accumulate and fill up a room until movement and navigation in that space become a problem.
• If you enter the home of a hoarder, you will notice that there are a lot of physical risks and health dangers that the accumulated items can bring to the people living in the house. The clutter can cause fires and the dirt can cause allergies and other illnesses. Pest infestation is also common in these houses. In extreme cases, a hoarding clean up service might be required.
• The most common type of hoarders are the object hoarders but there are also animal hoarders who try to keep animals like cats, dogs, and other species even if they couldn’t take care of all of them. Knowing the type of hoarding will also increase the chances of how you can help them.