Am I A Hoarder - Your Official Guide

By Kathleen Wright


Homes will naturally accumulate items and minor clutter but these goods are eventually organized and tossed without any stress or emotion attached to it. With hoarding, the accumulation of goods become excessive and disruptive, continuing to the point where people cannot part with useless items and live in a health hazard. To answer, am I a hoarder, it is important to learn how to spot the symptoms.

Hoarding is a debilitating anxiety disorder that impacts many people across the world leaving them unable to get rid of items that are no longer functional or used. The goods that are accumulated will become more until there is no space for proper storage and organization, leaving it to take over the property. It creates a lack of space and unhealthy living conditions.

If you suspect being a hoarder or know someone who is affected by hoarding, it is important to receive a fair psychological assessment and to take steps to seek assistance. Hoarding is characterized by obsessive compulsive symptoms that leave individuals to hold onto goods to relieve their anxiety. To determine whether hoarding has affected your life requires a look into the psychology behind the behaviors.

The accumulation of goods no longer needed is a healthy and natural part of letting go and maintaining a healthy, balanced home. Unfortunately hoarders are unable to release the items purchased or acquired and the goods simply continue to build-up, take over living and bedrooms and your life. Clutter that becomes difficult to manage also increases risk of exposure to dirt and health hazards.

It is part of the living process to hold onto goods but the problem is when these items create risk and become so unorganized one cannot move between rooms or find specific items. Stored goods can remain well organized in a regular household however, the problem of goods that cannot be properly organized and missing items in piles of clutter is the anxiety it creates and simply leads to the cycle of accumulating additional items.

Items that become part of a hoarders life include plastics, clothing, food and papers to garden items, mechanical parts and other objects that cannot be used. There is no order to these goods and heaps accumulate inside and outside of the hoe to the point of moving in between the clutter and sleeping areas. It is important to note the lack of control and an extreme inability to let go of these items.

Such OCD conditions involve high levels of anxiety when attempting to remove much of the clutter and the experience of being unable to let go. Families may seek assistance for their loved ones who are living in untidy and unhygienic surrounds leaving them in severe distress. Attempting to implement such management and removal procedure without a professional can lead to much difficulty and dysfunction.

When hoarding is consuming your life, finding support from a therapist will help breakdown the compulsiveness and poor organization that most experience. In consultation with an experienced practitioner, it is important to determine how to live a healthier, balanced lifestyle. Clutter can be resolved and a better way of living achieved if the right help is sought.




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