geriatricsphilippines.org Blog

When there is imminent danger to the person with hoarding or to others in the household, it may be necessary to seek professional help.
[caption id=”attachment_377″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″ caption=”hoarding photo from anxietystress.org”][/caption]
For individuals with compulsive hoarding who are ready to work in the home and wish the help of family members or friends, the following can be helpful:

DO:
1. Decide together on the goal, e.g., clearing an area of the home.
2. Help the person remain focused on the task in front of him or her. Simply remind the person what he or she is supposed to be doing at the moment.
3. Provide emotional support. Express empathy, with statements such as, “I can see how hard this is for you,” Cheer on and praise the effort the individual is making to overcome this problem and expressing their belief in the person’s ability to make progress.
4. Help the person make decisions but do not make decisions for him or her. Good questions to ask are: “Is it useful?” “Do you need it?” “Can you do without it?”
5. Help the person with hauling. Many people with compulsive hoarding have accumulated so many things that they can become overwhelmed by the enormity of removing such a large number of items.

DON’T:

1. Don’t touch anything in the person’s home without his or her specific permission. Ignoring the person’s wishes and handling their things without their permission breaks trust and can damage the relationship with them.
2. Don’t argue with the person who has the hoarding problem as this produces negative feelings and slows progress. When conflict arises, take a break.
3. Don’t tell the person with the hoarding problem how he or she should feel.
4. Respect that items that appear useless in fact have great value to the person is instrumental in helping the individual to overcome this problem.

More Information:
The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation

See related blog in our March Archive