Have you ever watched A&E’s show Hoarders? Because of their attention to the disorder, it has become much more mainstream a topic. It also gives insight into the psychology of hoarding. What if your compulsive shopping or inability to declutter your home became more unbearable the longer you lived in it? To the one in fifty people struggling to deal with severe hoarding tendencies, it is more than just a lifestyle choice. If you are unsure of the signs of the obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder of hoarding, here are five things you should look for.
Who Is Classified As A Compulsive Hoarder?
There are three classifications for someone to be a compulsive hoarder including keeping a lot of items that have no value, has clutter in living spaces, and leads to day-to-day living difficulties.
- Rooms In Your Home Become Unlivable Due To Clutter
There is no perfect home because people and pets live in it. Have you ever thought about how it would be to enter a room that you could not use because of the mounting clutter? If you are unable to use a room because of the too many possessions and eventually only have access via a small walkway, you may suffer from hoarding tendencies.
- You Lack Organization
It is interesting that people who have a lot of possessions have so much clutter but knows what and where they are. It often is a key difference between a collector and a hoarder. For hoarders, it is not the same situation as there is no organization to the clutter. If things are piled to the ceiling in and lack a clear structure, the lack of organization is telling.
- Hoarded Items Have No Monetary Value
For people who have compulsive tendencies, there is no monetary value to what is in a home. Some people save useless items like magazines, broken items, and advertisements that are decades old. Hoarders always have the good intention to fix it or use it one day.
- A Pattern Of Isolation
When hoarders feel embarrassed about their living conditions, they tend to isolate themselves from friends and family members. Compulsive hoarders do not want to feel shame at not having a place to entertain guests. They realize that their situations would cause embarrassment when others judged them based on the condition of their homes.
- Find It Hard To Get Rid Of Items
A key indicator of hoarding is their reactions to throwing items away. Hoarders have a tendency to become angry and combative when faced with the reality that in order to deal with OCD disorders they must declutter the items in their home. It is an emotional experience that is best handled by hoarding professionals. Because removal can sometimes be an issue, it is also recommended to hire hoarding cleanout professionals who understand both the emotional and physical requirements of this type of job.
ABH Services can provide dumpsters, declutter and cleanout, and recycling services to assist mental health professionals with complex jobs. Call us at 781-941-2422 for more information.