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What’s A Hoarder Guide | We’ve heard the term hoarder, but what does it actually mean? And how can you help someone who has gone down this path? It’s unclear exactly what causes people to become hoarders. The illness seems difficult for family members to understand, and they often have mixed feelings about the situation.
Here we will offer some insight into hoarding behavior and why these people are so hard to break free of its clutches. One can also call up a hoarding cleanup service; visit this page to know more.
Types Of Hoarders
- Type One – disorganized hoarders: These people are the messiest hoarders. They usually have overwhelming clutter in their personal space and backyards. They suffer from depression and anxiety when it comes to clutter in their home.
- Type Two – compulsive hoarders: They have an emotional attachment to their possessions and can’t let go of things without creating great emotional stress. It is as if they feel that they will be losing someone or a part of their own selves by letting go of things.
Type Two hoarders also tend to want to control things—even their feelings. This group is usually a result of a traumatic event in their life, such as a death, divorce, or abandonment. That said, there can be other causes as well.
- Type Three – resentful hoarders: They are considered the most dangerous of the three types because of the hostility they carry with them. Resentful hoarders tend to be bitter about their lives; everything is always someone else’s fault.
They also seem to be jealous of other people’s success, possessions, and relationships. Low self-esteem is usually prevalent in this group. The resentment they feel towards others has led them to shut down and become detached from others emotionally.
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How To Help Someone Who Hoards?
Hoarding is a very serious behavior disorder that has been scientifically studied for decades. It seems that it is partly caused by genetics. Moreover, hoarding can be triggered by a traumatic event or something that causes anxiety in the person.
The disorganization in the home plays another role in triggering the hoarding behavior, but it is what’s going on inside their head that makes them hoard. So this inner struggle is very important to understand when you are trying to help someone who hoards.
Another thing you can do to help is to set boundaries for them. So let’s start with what one can do to help.
Educate Yourself About Hoarding
People need to understand that hoarding is a real mental issue that can affect anyone. From a scientific perspective, it is not a “lazy” or “unmotivated” way of using space in the home.
On the contrary, hoarders are extremely goal-oriented when it comes to their belongings. There are several professional organizations and personal blogs out there about hoarding, so do your research and look for support in your local community.
Help Them Sort Their Belongings
Hoarders are generally very resistant to letting go of their belongings. The first step you can take is to talk to the person about why they are hoarding, and then encourage them to start sorting their belongings into piles that they may want to keep or get rid of.
You can then help them with their disposal. If possible, let them sort through the pile themselves at first. But then if the process gets too overwhelming, give them a hand.
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Don’t Clean Up For Them
Hoarders often need a lot of encouragement to get started on their road to recovery. Try to provide them with positive feedback along the way. Any effort to clean up the home should come from them, not you.
Carefully guide them step by step through the process. They may need professional help in this area to avoid getting overwhelmed.
Don’t Take Their Possessions Away
Hoarders often feel frustrated and powerless to prevent others from taking their possessions. If you intend to get rid of or take away things that were supposed to be yours, make sure your loved one agrees in advance.
Help them make a list of possessions they want to keep and things they can’t stand to lose during the hoarding cleanup.
Don’t Enable The Behavior
Hoarders often rely on others to help keep their homes clean. If you offer to take care of the housework, you may be enabling their hoarding behavior. When your loved one finds ways to solve their problems, they might be more confident about getting the help they need.
Recognize Small Victories
Once you know what they like and how to help, hire a cleaning service or find your home organizer. For some reason, hoarders often enjoy the mundane tasks of putting things away. Try to find ways that they can do these things alone, rather than wait for you to do them for them.
Remember that despite hoarding’s extreme nature, it isn’t always easy to un-hoard someone who has done so much work on their own.
Help Your Loved One Find Treatment
Hoarders often have trouble with relationships and social interaction. So, speak to them about how serious the problem is and if there’s anything you can do to assist them in getting treatment. Your loved one may not want to ask for help, but it is important that they at least agree to get help.
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Hire A Professional Hoarding Cleanup Company
You may not want to, but you must let your loved one know that professional junk removal companies are out there. Although they might take their time, they are extremely efficient (and, thankfully for hoarders, discreet).
Conclusion
Hoarding is a serious behavior disorder that can have extremely damaging effects on not only your loved ones but their family members as well. Although it might seem quite easy to avoid the situation, it can be much more difficult in reality.
Suppose you are in a situation where you are struggling with hoarding in your own home or with a loved one. In that case, you must seek help from professional hoarding cleanup services that have experience dealing with this particular behavior disorder.
