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There is much awareness of Hoarders as of late on television and there are many stories of people who have even died under their rubble of falling magazines or newspapers, but what actually is a Hoarder? A hoarder acquires things compulsively and saves them without discarding, organizing or maintaining them. It is a serious medical condition which is defined medically:
“Pathological hoarding: Excessive hoarding of material goods, a condition that affects up to 40% of people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Excessive hoarders, who fill their houses with accumulations of junk, usually newspapers, bags of old clothing and lists, tend to experience more anxiety and depression social disability than OCD patients with other symptoms. Hoarders are also less likely to seek help. Pathological hoarders have decreased activity in the anterior cingulate, a brain structure involved in decision making and problem solving, compared with people with other OCD symptoms. The hoarders also show less activation than the healthy subjects in the posterior cingulate, an area involved in spatial orientation, memory and emotion. Hoarding may therefore have a distinctive basis in brain activity.”
As stated above, hoarding is a serious condition of accumulation of stuff beginning in the brain. The brain is where most of our problems begin, if we change our thoughts, we can change our life. Many hoarders have connected their identity with their things and feel that if they throw away their things, something bad will happen or they will lose a part of themselves. It is typically easier for them to donate it. One of the problems is that they believe lies about themselves. This is something that many of us do to an extent. If we dissect our thought patterns and write down all of our negative self-talk (the lies) and then write the positive self-talk regarding that statement (the truth), we can begin to change our thoughts. If we daily read the positive self talk for 21 days, our behavior will change.
One lie that Hoarders may believe is, “I’m a looser because I can’t get control over my stuff.” We cannot identify who we are based on what we do. Rather, we should base our identity on who we are according to the good in our heart. Then take it a step further and consider where that good came from.
Hoarders tend to feel sorry for things so they decide to take them into their homes because they are broken, run down, homeless or rejected items. This shows behavior’s such as caring, kind, patient and forgiving. These qualities derive from love, thus they are loving.
Below is an example of a Thought Pattern Inventory:
Negative Self Talk (LIE): Positive Self-talk (TRUTH):
I am a loser because I can’t control my stuff. I am kind, patient, forgiving and loving.
If you are a hoarder, it is time to break free from the prison! Call me for help and I will walk you through the process of going through your things, sorting and organizing. Then I will teach you new behaviors to keep it organized. Hoarding is the result of a problem that begins in your mind, when you change your thinking to line up with the truth, then you can truly change your life.
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