When your parent has a hoarding problem, it can take a toll on more than his or her home. It can impact your family and the relationships that each person has with your parent. In order to tackle the hoarding, you have to understand what it is and devise a plan.
What Is Hoarding?
Hoarding is much more than hanging onto excessive amounts of items that usually have little or no value. Hoarding is a mental health condition that can result in functional impairments, such as social isolation, loss of living space, and familial problems.
Hoarding can stem from any number of reasons, including the belief that some of the possessions are irreplaceable. Some hoarders begin collecting items after a traumatic event, such as losing a child, divorce, or job loss.
What Is the Treatment?
There is no set rule book for how to treat hoarding. What works for one person might not work for another. One way that a therapist might choose to treat the disorder is to find out what triggered the hoarding and deal with it.
For instance, if the hoarding began after the death of a child, a therapist might help the person deal with the emotions he or she felt. It could take months or even years of therapy to reach a point at which your parent is ready to deal with the hoarding.
Without proper treatment, de-cluttering your parent's home will be almost impossible. Not dealing with the mental side of hoarding will only leave your parent with the urge to keep hoarding.
How to Clear the Home?
Obviously, cleaning out your parent's home is a major concern. Since hoarding can impact your parent's health and the structure of the home, it is imperative that you start to tackle the physical state as soon as it is possible.
Taking on the whole home at once can be emotionally trying for your parent, but also a physical and emotional drain on you and your family.
A good place to start is to rent a self-storage unit, such as AAA Flying Trolley Self Storage. Use it to store items of real value for your parent. Take 15 minutes daily to work on the home. Encourage your parent to either toss or store items that have not been used within the last year. Do not hesitate to call in professionals if you and your parent start to feel overwhelmed.
Hoarding is a real mental health condition that can be a cause for concern. If your parent is a hoarder, do not ignore the disorder or delay acting.
Share5 January 2015
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