Hoarding and even living in constant clutter can be detrimental to one’s mental health. It can even be said that mental health issues or less-than-stellar mental soundness contribute to living in clutter. Often, a lack of motivation or interest can lead to allowing the mess to compile around the house. This can be caused by stress, depression, anxiety, and even extreme OCD. Yes, it may seem contrary, but the perfection a person with OCD expects from themselves can often lead them to live a disorderly life. It may feel like an all-or-nothing situation.

At the same time, what we often forget is how family and friends are affected by a hoarder. People with hoarding disorder require help; clutter can be handled without professional help, so the loved ones of the hoarder must learn the difference so they can provide help at the right time. While you can always hire a Hoarding Cleaning Company to clean the clutter, don’t forget that they will need your support and mental health help as well.

The Key Differences Between Being Very Messy and Hoarding

Of course, you should first understand that hoarding and being messy are just not the same. There are huge differences that you should identify. Mostly because clutter could be caused by a difficult phase in life, having young children at home, or a busy lifestyle. Hoarding, on the other hand, is only going to get worse with time.

If you are worried that someone close to you may have a hoarding disorder, you can keep an eye on a few key differences that will help you recognize one from the other. Once you understand their problem, you can reach out to them and offer Hoarding Cleanup Help.

Clean Up

Anyone who is messy will clean up their surroundings once in a while. This can be on the onset of a weekend, once a month, or when it just becomes too sloppy for their liking. This is a big clue to discern whether your loved one is a hoarder, simply a messy person, or is going through a phase of messiness. Consider how often they clean up, if ever, and you’ll spot the hoarder.

Accessibility

Despite the chaos, all areas of your messy friend's home will be equally accessible. Whether it’s their bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom, you will have no problem finding your way there through the mess, and the rooms will be as functional as ever.

Read more: How to Choose the Best Kitchen Remodeling Contractor?

The clutter may just be at eye level without doing much harm. It can be seen as a lazy person not having picked up after themselves in due time. A hoarder will be letting many areas of their home become inaccessible and unusable. If any room or area of their home has been out of use due to a jumble for a long time, it is a huge sign of hoarding disorder. In such a case, don’t attempt to clean and instead hire Hoarding Cleaning Services.

Let’s Not Forget – Collectors

Collectors, on the other hand, are much different from messy people and a hoarder. To begin with, their collecting may leave areas inaccessible, but the items will often be sorted or, at the very least, placed in a tidy manner. A book collector, for instance, will proudly display their collection of books. The extras that don’t have sufficient display space will still be placed neatly and safely. Collector cares about the condition of their collectibles and will thus make sure that they are cleaned and reorganized regularly. It also stems from their love of their collectibles and wanting to go through them often.

Whatever the reason may be, at the end of the day, a tidy home is the result. You should learn to specify clutter from organized collectibles. If you ask them about any distinct item, they’ll be able to find it for you in an instant.

A Compulsivity

Hoarders collect materials compulsively. You can recognize this from a collector or a disorganized person by looking at the quality of the materials that cause the clutter. A hoarder will feel distraught at the thought of throwing away valueless items such as cartons, Styrofoam, boxes, and other items. They may have a host of items they’ve not used or even touched in months and even years at a time. They believe and may even tell you that they might have a use for these materials at some point.

A hoarder holds some sort of emotional attachment to their material possessions no matter how worthless they may be. They will need Hoarding Cleanup Help in addition to Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT).

How To Help a Hoarder?

The very first thing you can do to help a hoarder in your life is to speak to them. Deal with them with empathy and let them know you are concerned for them. Do not pity them, shame them or embarrass them. That is the worst thing you can do for their mental health and may delay them from seeking the help they quite obviously need. Once they are ready to get help, direct them towards Hoarding Cleaning Services to ease at least some of their trouble.

Along with this, they should get help from a mental health professional. They may help the hoarder recognize where their hoarding habit stems from and how to deal with it accordingly. Often, the way our brain protects us from childhood trauma or any age is to think and act a certain way. What DBT can do is it will help the hoarding to look at their life, circumstances, and traumas in a different way. This will further help them from letting their possession and keep them from hoarding them again.

Conclusion

Hoarding disorder is not a joke and should not be taken lightly. They are in severe mental distress and need professional help. Hoarding Cleaning Services can help them with the clutter and get their house back in working order, but equal focus is required for their mental health.

If you would like more advice on if the hoarder in your life is ready for help, then you should check our Life Cycle Transitions. We understand that transitions in life can lead many down the path of hoarding, and we come with this understanding to help you.