If you know someone who is suffering from hoarding, you may be struggling to find ways to help them.
Hoarding disorder is a serious mental health condition where a person excessively saves items or has persistent difficulty getting rid of or parting with their possessions. This behaviour leads to clutter that can significantly disrupt the living abilities of the person and their family. As well, it can cause strain and conflict for everyone involved. Lastly, it makes the home a breeding ground for dust and bacteria that can lead to physical health issues if it’s not dealt with.
Hoarding leaves the home in a messy, and potentially dangerous, state that leaves loved ones longing for a clean and happy home again.
Things You Can Do To Help
If you’re looking for ways to help someone who is suffering from hoarding, the first step is to accept that they have a problem, and simultaneously accept that you can’t force them to get better.
The best thing you can do for them is to provide a supportive and empathetic environment that encourages them to begin their journey to recovery.
Assess Your Own Behaviour
A great way to begin helping someone who is suffering from hoarding is to take a moment to assess your own behaviour. Reflect on anything that you might be doing to enable their behaviour.
For instance…
Are you saving magazines or newspapers to give to the person suffering from hoarding disorder?
Are you paying for subscriptions that may be providing them with more stuff?
Have you been helping them find extra space to store items in the house or paying for a storage unit for more space?
Create a list of ways you might be accommodating the hoarding disorder behaviour. It’s also important that you adjust your behaviour in small and manageable steps.
Changing your behaviour drastically might impact the person suffering from hoarding disorder negatively.
Educate Yourself About Hoarding Disorder
Hoarding disorder may not make sense to someone who does not suffer from it.
Taking the time to learn what you can about the condition can help you understand the fear and anxiety that is associated with hoarding disorder.
As a result, you will be able to offer more empathy and support. This will allow you to recognize the small victories that occur as well.
Improve Your Communication
Discussing hoarding disorder in an open and accepting way will benefit everyone involved.
Respecting the person’s attachment to the items is an important step in being able to create a supportive environment. 
Recovering from hoarding disorder is not a straight line; They may be improving one minute and then seem like they are getting worst the next.
Being able to openly discuss how hoarding disorder impacts everyone involved will continue to help someone in their recovery.
Help Them Organize & Start the Cleanup Process
Helping the person suffering from hoarding disorder sort through their belongings will make more of an impact than doing it for them.
It is common for others to get rid of items without the person who is suffering from hoarding disorder’s knowledge.
Moreover, it is crucial that you do not take their items.
This action can do more harm than good. Like most mental health conditions, you can’t expect someone to make any progress if you are forcing them to make changes when they are not ready.
Finding Treatment for Hoarding Disorder
Hoarding is considered a mental health issue.
Therefore, it can be treated in much the same way as other mental health conditions.
Helping someone seek treatment is important but can be intimidating for them. Again, forcing them into treatment is not the right course of action.
Do your own research and provide them with the information, so they can make the decision for themselves.
How Can Enviropure Help with Hoarding Cleanup?
Cleaning up the clutter created by someone who is suffering from hoarding disorder is almost always too much for one person to take care of.
When they are ready to take this step in their journey to recovery, Enviropure home services is here to help. With many years of experience and extensive training, our crews are ready to assist in any way they can with the hoarding cleanup process. After helping with with hoarding cleanup, we always recommend doing a deep cleaning of the house as well since it hasn’t been done in years in many cases.
From clearing out space to cleaning and sanitizing the rooms, let Enviropure take care of all the steps involved in returning your home back to a healthy living space.
Contact us to begin the process of reclaiming your home!
