Hoarders And How To Help The One You Love
Hoarding is a severe mental ailment which effects everyone from mothers to businessmen and everyone in between. While hoarding reeks havoc on the lives of those involved countless go undiagnosed and without help often times until it is too late. While it is easy enough to spot hoarders what with their piles upon piles of seemingly useless junk, it is much harder to treat their condition. As desperate as you may be to help you must understand the complexities of their situation and condition.
So, what exactly is hoarding? Compulsive hoarding is characterized by the accumulation of seemingly worthless junk and even garbage to the point of it endangering the safety of the person and their residence. The collection might start small and then mushroom into a larger problem eventually consuming all available space. So, what might begin as keeping a graco snugride infant car seat just in case someone needs it soon balloons into a far larger problem. What makes hoarding different from simply collecting or keeping back items is that the hoarder attaches value to items that are valueless and will refuse to relinquish anything fearing that by doing so they are giving up something more instead of junk. So, they will no longer want to give up the car seat, in fact they will not be able to.
Hoarding is not a choice. This is important to understand before proceeding any further. Those who hoard are not doing so because they are dirty. They do not want seven dyson vacuum dc17 but they are compelled by forces that they do not understand to keep them. Many extreme cases will not even remember that they own a vacuum cleaner let alone that they own multiples. The dangers of this behavior are numerous with the worse cases being potentially life threatening. Hoarders often let their stuff accumulate in any space in the house including walk ways, living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. They will stack piles of stuff to the ceiling and let it gather in the open spaces until there is only a narrow path available. There are several deaths each and every year as a result of people being crushed or suffocated under their own hoarding stash.
One of the reasons hoarding can be so dangerous is because severe health and sanitation dangers are often present. For those who have piles of stuff reaching to the ceiling the danger of a landslide is very real. There have been many deaths attributed to a person being pinned under their hoard and unable to dig their way out. They then die of either suffocation or hunger as a result. Severe hoarders will often find that home repairs are impossible since they do not want anyone to see how they live. Small leaks turn into dangerous problems. Biological contaminations resulting from garbage accumulation, fecal matter, and even rotting foods can become serious health issues.
There is no definite cure for hoarding just treatment and education about the behavior. No one can even really explain why people are obsessed with keeping old newspapers or mens wedding bands just that they do and that the behavior now present a very real danger to their health and happiness. Due to the shame and fear involved many do not seek the help that they need and will even begin to alienate themselves from friends and families out of that fear. Should you find that a loved one suffers from this affliction you need to approach it with understanding and with professional help.
What you do not want to do is to take extreme action. While throwing everything away may seem to be the best and most logical solution to you this will in fact prove to be devastating to the person who suffers from hoarding. In fact, such an action may cause the person to become worse. There are specialist available that can give the hoarder the help and understanding that he or she needs. It is crucial to seek out this type of help.
This is a disease, not a choice and hoarders are often far too ashamed to seek out help on their own. They will be hesitant and reluctant to change their ways even if they understand that it is for the better. Far more then pack rats, hoarders are in desperate need of help. Just remember to be supportive and try not to push too hard. Be there for the one you love and together seek the help needed.
An updated tour of my server cabinet July 2010
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Thermaltake Mobile Fan II External USB Cooling Fan – Us $11.10 THERMALTAKE A1888 THERMALTAKE 80MM MOBILE FAN II USB POWER EXTERNAL CASE FAN A1888… |
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Tripp Lite SR42UBWD Rack Enclosure Server Cabinet Wide – 42U – 19 $1509.99 Tripp Lite SR42UBWD Rack Enclosure Server Cabinet Wide – 42U – 19″ |
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