Tips on Hoarding Mania

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How do you help a relative who hoards?

Excessive hoarding will no doubt cause you much frustration.  Most family members will probably react negatively when dust and rubbish accumulate around them and they can do nothing about it.  It is natural to want to live in a clean and dignified environment without embarrassing anyone, especially when friends and family visit.  It is difficult to reason with a person obsessed with hoarding.  Your impulse would be to clear the house and get rid of all the accumulated junk. However, this will not solve the problem.  It is important to keep in mind that this is a mental disorder that causes a person to be very irrational.
 
What can you do to help?

1.  Seek professional help.  Don’t think that you can solve the problem on your own.  Follow the professional’s advice so that you are all working along the same lines.
2. Try to imagine how you would feel in the same situation as the hoarder.
3. When you talk to your relative who hoards things, use words that explain and encourage realistic behaviour, such as: “I’m aware that you know this place like the back of your hand.  But try to imagine how someone could get to you in an emergency!  He would be sure to stumble and hurt himself.”  Or: “The neighbours are within their rights to report you to the health authorities.  Before things reach that point, wouldn’t it be better if you start to make some changes?  Neighbours should be friends, not enemies.”
4. Remember that acute hoarders will not accept your criticism.  They  will be even more stubborn if you make such comments as: “Look at all the junk around you!” or “Who on earth can live in a place like this?  You’ve turned the house into a pig-sty.”
5. Don’t make fun of their home and the things they cherish.  They would think that you are cheapening their value.  After all, they already know that you have different opinions about these things.
6. Don’t refer to the things hoarded as rubbish or junk.  Try to control your facial expression or gestures.
7. Don’t try to persuade or force them to make changes in the room or house as this will have the opposite effect.
8. Don’t touch the hoarded items without permission. They will be disturbed and upset when they see you moving them.
9. Above all:  (a) concentrate on safety both for the patient and the rest of the family – particularly fire hazards;  (b) then store the items; and (c) finally work to remove the hoarded items.
10. Treatment: An acute hoarder doesn’t think his behaviour is a problem. So treatment is a big challenge to all concerned.  Everyone needs to participate in the treatment.  The hoarder will not succeed on his or her own.  You may need to make a plan to ensure that the patient does not continue to hoard.  Where animals are concerned, you may need to involve the SPCA in the plan.  Intense treatment may lead the person to understand their behaviour and lead a safer life.

 
Remember:  “A good deed strengthens us and inspires others to behave well.” (Plato, 400 BC)