The impact of hoarding is huge and can affect people in so many ways. At Jigsaw, we have a dedicated Hoarding Specialist who can help. We take a person centred approach tailored to each individual resident and can provide hands on practical help in their home. We are non-judgmental and our main priorities are to create safe and healthy living environments for the person affected, empowering them to make positive behavioural changes to their health and wellbeing.
If you are a Jigsaw Homes tenant affected by hoarding and living in Tameside or Manchester, get in touch and ask to speak with:
Jayne Mee – Hoarding Specialist.
Alternatively, you can contact your GP or seek additional support using the contacts further down this article.
Hoarding is estimated to affect 1.2 million people in the UK. Hoarding is having so many things in your home that you cannot manage the clutter where you live, and you find it impossible or difficult to throw things away.
Hoarding is a mental health problem that a doctor can diagnose. Sometimes you might also experience hoarding as part of another mental or physical health problem.
A person who has hoarding behaviour might:
- Feel the need to get more things, even if you have a lot already
- Have very strong positive feelings whenever you get more things
- Feel very upset or anxious at the thought of throwing or giving things away because of their emotional attachment to them
- Find it very hard to decide what to keep or get rid of
- Find it hard to organise their things
- Have so many things that they can’t use parts of the places they live in – like not sleeping in the bed or using the sink
- Have lots of disagreements with the people close to them about their things
- Find it hard to pack for trips away, like a holiday – they might pack many more things than they really need because they can’t decide what’s important
Sometimes a person who is hoarding doesn’t recognise that they are hoarding, or how it is impacting their lives. This can sometimes be called ‘clutter blindness’.
If you think you may be hoarding or know someone who is hoarding it is important to seek treatment and support.
If you are supporting someone close to you who is seeking help, remember to be patient. Don’t force someone to throw away their things, this is unlikely to help them change in the long term and could lead to them becoming withdrawn from support in the future. It is essential to seek professional help to find out the root cause of the hoarding behaviour.
No one knows what causes hoarding; people will have different reasons for their own experiences. It is thought that it is a combination of these factors:
Difficult feelings – Hoarding can be related to difficult experiences and can be sometimes used to cope or distract from these feelings of being anxious, upset or afraid.
Perfectionism or Worrying – if you hoard things you might feel worried about making mistakes, which is also known as perfectionism. If you find it hard to make decisions, plan ahead or work out how to do tasks you may be more vulnerable to hoarding.
Childhood Experiences – Research has linked hoarding to childhood experiences of losing things, not owning things (living in poverty), or people not caring for you and experiencing emotional abuse or neglect. This might make you feel more connected to your belongings and hard for you to let them go or organise them.
Trauma and Loss – You may be able to link the start of your hoarding to a traumatic event or period in your life. This could be being abused, bullied or harassed, breaking up with a partner, experiencing physical health problems, bereavement, feeling lonely or isolated, or experiencing long periods of stress.
Family history or habits – It can be common for a person who has hoarding behaviour to have a family member who shares this behaviour. If you grew up around hoarding you might have learnt this habit or behaviour from a parent or sibling.
When hoarding becomes a problem and a person seeks treatment it is essential to take things at their own pace and not put pressure on them to make changes faster than they want to. Removing the person’s things will only cause more distress and will not help the person in the long term.
A person with hoarding behaviour should visit their GP who may suggest talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to treat their hoarding behaviour. There are no specific medications for hoarding behaviours but a GP may prescribe medication to help with other problems the person is experiencing alongside their hoarding, for example, they may be offered antidepressants.
If the person affected is a Jigsaw Homes tenant, they can contact us for support. We take a person-centred approach to each individual person and we can provide hands-on practical help in their homes. We are non-judgmental and our main priorities are to create safe and healthy living environments for the person affected and empower them to make positive behavioural changes to their health and wellbeing.
Other agencies that can offer support with hoarding are:
Hoarding UK – Helpline: 020 3239 1600
Hoarding Disorders UK – Helpline: 0330 133 2310
Mind – Helpline: 0300 123 3393
Help for Hoarders – Helpline: 0203 239 1600
Rainbow Red – Helpline: 07931 303310
Myth 1 – Hoarders are just lazy people who don’t care about their homes
Not true! Hoarding is a mental health problem that a doctor can diagnose. Sometimes you might also experience hoarding as part of another mental or physical health problem. The Care Act 2014 recognises that adults who hoard need help and protection. That’s why we created a hoarding specialist role as part of our pledge to help more residents who struggle with their mental health.
Myth 2 – If Jigsaw find out I’m a hoarder, I will lose my home
False, support is out there! We have a dedicated Hoarding Specialist who can help. We take a person centred approach to each individual resident and we can provide hands on practical help in their homes. We are non-judgmental and our main priorities are to create safe and healthy living environments for the person affected, empowering them to make positive behavioural changes to their health and wellbeing.
Myth 3 – Only the elderly hoard
Hoarding does not favour a particular age, gender, ethnicity, occupation or tenure type. No one knows what causes hoarding; people will have different reasons for their own experiences.
Myth 4 – Throwing everything away will solve the issue.
Throwing everything away does not change behaviour. When a person seeks treatment it is important to take things at their own pace and not put pressure on them to make changes faster than they want to. Removing the persons things will only cause more distress and will not help the person in the long term.
Myth 5 – Nothing can be done when hoarding is really bad
All levels of hoarding are resolvable. It starts with asking for help. If the person affected is a Jigsaw Homes tenant, they can contact us for support or they should contact their GP.
TOP TEN tips about DO’S and DON’TS when you encounter a person who you believe to be impacted by their hoarding behaviours:
- Try to show compassion, understanding and kindness
- Ask about a person’s wants, worries and what they expect
- Don’t say ‘What’s wrong with you?’ say ‘What happened to you?’
- Don’t stigmatise a person by using words like ‘self-neglect’
- Aim for some quick wins for the person when they are ready to address issues in their home
- Work on shared goals, not how you think a person should live
- Be persistent. Not all steps will be forward steps
- Be practical. Don’t negotiate unrealistic goals
- Try to see the world through their eyes
- Building a relationship is key and will happen quickly if you are patient and work at the person’s pace.
Together, lets de-clutter our stereotypes of hoarding and hoarders.
