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- General chatter (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/general-chatter-72/)

- - hoarders (https://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/general-chatter/128865-hoarders.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by scgirl32 (Post 1961041)

I was referring to working with the relatives of the "hoarders." For the most part, I'm called in after someone has passed away. The first person hoarded for their lifetime, and I come in when the relatives are forced to empty out the house. It's sad to see on a number of levels. One that always bothers me, though, is the flippancy of some of these relatives. They basically tell me "take what you want, we don't care." I'm certainly not a hoarder, but I know that, if something were to happen to my mom (who is), there are certain things she "hoarded" that I would want to keep.

I wasn't referring to your post. ;)

I was referring to lilybelle's original post mentioning professional organizers (while the hoarder is still alive, not deceased).

After the person is deceased, of course, someone has to do what you do. In my post, I was mentioning that for someone with OCD hoarding, a professional organizer doesn't really help.

Aphil, I mentioned the professional organizer because this is what was recommended on the TLC special that I watched. It , of course, was done with the help of therapy. The organizer came into the home and would help the client determine which small area of the home would be necessary to tackle first. The organizer did not move the client's belongings at all. For example, one client that I watched was in violation of the city fire code and was needing to clear a path to a designated fire window. She was in danger of being evicted from her apartment.

Basically, the organizers job was to praise the client's efforts and give advice when asked about how to sort stuff. It was very much a stand-by and watch effort on the part of the organizer. Otherwise it would end up overwhelming and confusing the client.

It was a very long, painstaking task that took a great deal of patience. Some of the clients, it was a whole year of doing just a little bit at a time . I mention all of this cause someone may have read my original post and thought an organizer goes in, sorts and boxes stuff and determines what to dispense of. It is isn't that way at all.

I fully admit that I knew very little about what was going on in the brain of a hoarder. I was hoping to help others gain insight about what I had learned from watching this show.

I hope this explanation makes sense.

I found these sites to be helpful.
http://www.ocfoundation.org/1005/m120a_004.htm
http://understanding_ocd.tripod.com/hoarding.html

One of the things I learned is that the medication that typically helps people with other symptoms of OCD is much less effective for people who hoard. A lot of the more effective therapies are cognitive/behavioral -- trying to change people's thoughts and behaviors about what they do. It IS time consuming.

Heather, thanks for the links.