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Health and Wellness
PAGE 98
Conquer Procrastination
Overcome Distractions
Reduce Stress
Increase Productivity
Control Clutter
Manage Time
Patricia Diesel
PO, CEC, Author/Columnist
Keep It Simple Now, LLC
908-642-1226
www.keepitsimplenow.com
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NEWS ON HOARDING
By: Patricia Diesel, CPC
Have you ever walked into someone’s
home and the first thing you see is a
mish mash of boxes, paperwork,
unopened mail, clothes, and unidenti-
fiable items covered from the floor to
ceiling? Do you remember what your
first impression was about that home
and the person living there?
Did you know that it is estimated that
more than 3 million Americans never
throw anything out and recent epi-
demiological studies suggest that as
many as 1 in 20 people have significant
hoarding problems.
Compulsive hoarding
is a distressing
and debilitating psychological condi-
tion that can be difficult to diagnose
accurately. Even to date, there is much
to learn about this complicated and
confusing disorder. A very basic
description of a compulsive hoarder is
someone who is unable to dispose of
excess or unused things to the point
where their belongings are taking on a
life of their own by cluttering up all liv-
ing space, nooks and crannies.
Now, can you pause for a moment and
ask yourself what it must “feel” like for
people who are either personally experi-
encing this or have a loved one that is?
I can professionally vouch for the
clients I have supported throughout
my career when I say that the majority
of people want relief. There is an over-
whelming amount of shame and guilt
they feel from their clutter.
But it’s not always that simple
to do.
New research suggests that people
who hoard have unique patterns of
brain activity when faced with making
decisions about their possessions,
compared with healthy people. And
despite the fact that hoarding has tra-
ditionally been seen as a symptom or
subtype of obsessive compulsive disor-
der (OCD), brain activity in those who
cannot de-clutter is also distinct from
that of people with typical OCD, the
study shows.
It is now believed that hoarding
is associated with 4 underlying
characteristics:
One:
People who hoard have certain
core vulnerabilities including emo-
tional dysregulation in the form of
depression or anxiety along with fam-
ily histories of hoarding and generally
high levels of perfectionism.
Two:
People who hoard appear to
have difficulties processing informa-
tion. In particular, these difficulties
appear as problems in attention
(
including ADHD-like symptoms),
memory, categorization, and decision-
making. The areas of the brain that
control these functions roughly corre-
spond to the brain regions that have
been shown to activate differently in
people who hoard.
Three:
People who hoard form
intense emotional attachments to a
wider variety of objects than do people
who don’t hoard. These attachments
take the form of attaching human-like
qualities to inanimate objects, feeling
grief at the prospect of getting rid of
objects, and deriving a sense of safety
from being surrounded by possessions.
Four:
People who hoard often hold
beliefs about the necessity of not wast-
ing objects or losing opportunities that
are represented by objects. Additional
beliefs about the necessity of saving
things to facilitate memory and appre-
ciation of the aesthetic beauty of
objects contribute to the problem.
(
Source: The Hoarding Forum)
What you should do:
If you are feeling overwhelmed and
stressed about clutter or feel you are
challenged with hoarding, I urge you
to find a way to connect with other
people to talk about it. Consider join-
ing a clutter support group – try
several until you find the one you feel
most comfortable with. Seek support
through counseling, coaching and pro-
fessional organizers who specialize in
hoarding not just clutter.
Remember, the clutter did not happen
overnight, therefore it will not go away
overnight either. It takes a call to action
plan, commitment and accountability,
the willingness to change and profes-
sional support.
Patricia Diesel
is a prominent certified professional
organizer, life coach and author who conveys her life-
transforming lessons through her travels, speaking
engagements and media appearances, including
Good Morning America, Lifetime
and
The Learning
Channel.
She has helped countless individuals restore
tranquility and sense to their lives by using her unique
abilities to encourage release, order, and constructive
engagement with the personal environment. Please
visit her website at www.KeepItSimpleNow.com. To
contact Patricia, call 908-642-1226, email at
patriciadiesel@keepitsimplenow.com.
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