When is too much too much?

Hoarding is having so many things that you cannot manage the clutter where you live, and find it difficult or impossible to throw things away.

You might hoard because you feel a strong need to keep things. But your connection to these things can cause you distress. And the impact of hoarding can affect your day-to-day life.

Hoarding disorder is a mental health problem that a doctor can diagnose. But you might also experience hoarding as part of another mental or physical health problem such as:

• Brain injuries
• Dementia
• Depression
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Schizophrenia
• Personality disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
• Alcohol or drug addiction
• Prader-Willi syndrome (a genetic condition)

If you hoard, you 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 your emotional attachment to them
• Find it very hard to decide what to keep or get rid of
• Find it hard to organise your things
• Have so many things that you can't use parts of the place you live in – like not sleeping on the bed or using the sink
• Have lots of disagreements with the people close to you about your things
• Find it hard to pack for trips away, like a holiday – you might pack many more things than you really need, because you can't decide what's important

Why might I hoard?

Many of us have belongings we consider special and things we save. But this is different from hoarding. When you hoard, it's because you might have emotional connections or beliefs about all your things. This makes it very hard to get rid of anything.

For example, you might believe the following:

• You need to keep items 'just in case'. Even if it's been a long time since you last used the item or if you've never used it at all.
• You'll forget important information or memories if you throw things away.
• You won't cope with how you'll feel if you throw things away.
• Throwing things away will harm other people or the environment.
• If you throw anything away, you are being wasteful.
• You should arrange or dispose of things perfectly, or not at all.
• Your things make you feel happy or keep you safe.
• Your things are all unique and special, even if they're very similar.
• You simply need more storage space, or more time to sort your things out.

There are other types of hoarding which include Digital and Animal Hoarding.

Effects of hoarding

Hoarding could affect you in lots of different ways. For example, you might:

• Struggle to find things you need. This can sometimes lead to money problems, for example if you can't keep on top of bills and letters.
• Avoid letting people into your space or have difficulty answering the door. This could mean you don't have visitors or get repairs done, which could lead to housing problems.
• Find it hard to keep yourself clean. For example if you can't access your bathroom or washing machine.
• Find it hard to cook and eat food. This might be because you can't access your kitchen or there's no room inside your fridge.
• Be unable to use parts of your space. For example being unable to sleep in your bed or walk along hallways because they're very cluttered.
• Be unable to quickly and safely leave in an emergency. For example, because your things are blocking doorways or escape routes.
• Distance yourself from others or have issues with people close to you. This might be because you don't want them to know about your situation, or because they say or do things that don't feel helpful to you.
• Feel ashamed or lonely. This could make you feel very isolated or affect your self-esteem.

Whilst all the effects of hoarding are serious, as your landlord we have a duty of care to ensure that you are safe in your home and can leave it quickly and safely in an emergency. In addition it is important to ensure that you can move around your home safely.

If when reading this page you think this sounds like me, or someone you know, you can take a number of small steps. In the first instance, contact our Tenancy Team and start that conversation that you or someone may need support. You can also contact Mind to talk through the barriers you are facing and when you are ready, you can reach out to Moving Forward CIC for help to bring you and your home back on track.

You are not alone and you will not be judged - please take that step and make contact...

... it can be positively life changing!