02 June 2011
Hoarding is considered to be a mental illness (a kind of obsessive compulsive disorder) and is a serious social and health problem. With surprisingly increased frequency our office has seen clients who struggle with hoarding. Some research has begun to show that hoarding may be hereditary. Additionally, the environmental factor of someone being raised by a hoarder from an early age can have a causal effect making a young person want to collect as well. There are a number of online support groups and blogs devoted to helping children of hoarders, including Children of Hoarders (COH), which allows members to cope by sharing personal stories, discussing issues and trading strategies for dealing with their parents. COH also has a local Massachusetts chapter, whose website can be viewed here. Additionally, the International OCD Foundation, based in Boston, has a hoarding center that can be accessed through their website. Boston University School of Social Work also maintains a website dedicated to research focused on hoarding, which can be accessed here.
Issues relating to hoarding can become more complicated as hoarders are typically reluctant to receive care in their homes, leading them to turn away needed services. This can in turn result in self-neglect and place the elder's health at risk. Adult children of hoarders are often conflicted in that they want to respect their parents independence and autonomy but are worried that their elderly parent may be at risk. When dementia or some other cognitive impairment is thrown into the mix, hoarding related problems become even more of a challenge.
The New York Times recently published an article on the challenges presented to the adult children of hoarders in leaving their parents' homes, in "Leaving the Cluttered Nest."
