Well folks, we are already through the first month of the New Year! Have you given up on your resolutions already? Perhaps you haven’t even made any yet. According to a report released in January by the American Psychology Association, the top stressors for Americans are finance, relationships and health. Taking a look at 2011, what created the most day to day stress for you? If you have hoarding and compulsive acquiring in your family, chances are all of the aforementioned areas are highly stressful for you, and the estimated 10,000,000 others who suffer from these disorders nationwide. Resolve to reduce your stress this year by starting on your recovery.
Financial: Hoarding and acquiring can have devastating effects on a family or individual’s economic stability. Research shows that most compulsive shoppers earn less than $50,000 per year, and will typically “overspend” for decades before seeking help. Excessive credit debt, late or missed payments, and inability to sustain employment are often the results of chronic shopping and hoarding. It is not uncommon for those afflicted to rent additional storage or living spaces when their primary home fills up. Likewise, the failure to properly maintain their home due to clutter and/or financial limitations exacerbates minor repair problems. The property can, therefor, sustain major damage requiring substantial restoration and be susceptible to fines for municipal code violations.
Relationships: Most people use logic when making decisions. Those with hoarding and acquiring disorders, however, typically have information processing problems that interfere with their ability to use reason when considering what to save and discard. Loved ones often feel that they speak a completely different language. This inability to communicate effectively about the hoarding and acquiring behaviors can lead to feelings of resentment, anger, guilt, hopelessness, frustration, dejection, and numerous others. Children of hoarders often describe feelings of inferiority; “the parent cares more about his or her stuff than the child”. Spouses may set ultimatums that they rarely carry out, eventually resolving to stop trying. If the hoarder lives alone, friends and family members rarely, if ever, visit the house leading to isolation, denial, and often depression.
Health: There are many health and safety concerns associated with hoarding and excessive acquiring. Aside from the emotional and mental health effects of these complex disorders, those who suffer are at risk of sustaining injuries due to limited mobility within the home. Falls are common, and as people age they are more susceptible to broken bones. Property stacked high creates danger of collapse and entrapment. Inability to access electrical outlets causes many to use multiple extension cords and to overload those that can be reached. Likewise, property spilling on to stovetops or stuffed near furnaces make fire or carbon monoxide poisoning a real threat. In extreme cases, lack of proper utilities like running water, refrigeration, and heat put their lives at risk. Accumulation of dust, mold, human waste, spoiled foods, insects, and animal waste and dander, can cause respiratory illness, skin wounds and irritations, digestive disorders, and countless other diseases or maladies.
Despite all these stressors, most people go decades without seeking help. They feel overwhelmed and often embarrassed. Unable to overcome these compulsions alone, they lack the confidence to seek help feeling like they are destined to life out their lives amongst the clutter and squalor. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, don’t give up. No one is beyond help. The only difference between a wish and reality is a plan.
The first step is to acknowledge that you cannot do it alone. Reach out to specialized mental health professionals, support groups, and friends. There is no shame in mental illness. There are people out there who will support you and assist with your recovery efforts, compassionately. Secondly, understand that the clutter in the home did not accumulate overnight. Be realistic about goals and expectations for overcoming it. Work with your support team to create a plan that is doable over a comfortable period of time. Do not set yourself up for failure. There is nothing more discouraging than continuing to fall short on objectives. Think about a person who gains 30 pounds over a period of ten years and then decides to diet. If they set a goal to lose the weight in a week, it would be impossible to accomplish. After a moderate loss of two pounds in the first week, they may decide that it is too difficult and give up altogether. What would you advise they should do? Give up or set more realistic goals? Take that same approach with your own recovery. Just think about what you can accomplish if you get started today!
NJDespres Enterprises™ 