#hoardingdisorder

The catch is this: at some point, a contractor for #SocialHousing had been sent to fix something. That person saw my strata and other unit chaos--again caused or at least *strongly* influenced by multi-years' worth of environmental issues that the landlord is NOT mitigating (notably: extreme heat and access to clear air for venting built-up heat)--and reported it to the landlord. The landlord in turn requested that I consider contacting the Hoarding Disorder Foundation of Alberta to work at reducing the amount of stuff I have in my unit. 12/x #clutter #mess #accessibility #HoardingDisorder

If the only thing you know about people with #HoardingDisorder is something from #RealityTV, I strongly encourage you to learn the actual reality. I'm no expert on the #diagnostic side but my understanding of the condition and it's history in the relevant #medical #literature is that hoarding was once considered a manifestation(?) of #OCD, but over the years experts noted a key distinguishing factor for hoarding vs OCD in particular: When people with OCD are engaging in a repetitive behaviour (eg: excessive handwashing) they feel terrible about it. They want desperately to stop *in the moment* but cannot do so. People with hoarding disorder, OTOH, feel good, perhaps even fabulous, in the moment(s) of acquiring new things. The bad feeling only comes after and/or when trying to de-accumulate. And a full-abstinence, AA-type approach cannot work, as people NEED to aquire things to survive: groceries don't buy themselves, after all! 😐 14/x #differentiation #difference #characteristic

And because of that key characteristic--acquiring things makes people who hoard feel good whilst people engaging in OCD behaviours feel horrible--#HoardingDisorder is no longer #classified as a type or manifestation(?) of #OCD in the DSM. Hoarding Disorder is a separate, specific condition with specific #diagnostic #criteria in the more recent editon(s) of the #DSM. 15/x #differentiation #distinction #unique #diagnosis

For a little over a year now, I have worked with a #HoardingSpecialist. This is someone trained according to the #BestPractises of present medical knowledge regarding #HoardingDisorder and provides me hands-on support to reduce and remove items from my unit. This has been extraordinarily helpful, with one caveat: From my POV, this specialist perspective is not necessarily one informed by the additional complications of #disability. Some of the issues I face unique to my (or others with similar) disabilities are able to be mitigated by technologies or devices. Purpose-built--IF they exist--are often extraordinarily expensive due to the relvatively miniscule market needing that item. Classic example: many gadgets people like to make fun of, perhaps uniquely-specific kitchen gadgets, are only availble cheaply because they CAN be sold as a novelty item to many, yet are critically important for a few. 16/x #MobilityAids #mitigations

And of course there is a real risk that a person with #HoardingDisorder isn't going to be very open to getting rid of something that isn't needed now or ever. I note that the fickle variations in my own disabilities means that I have learned the hard way to think long and carefully about getting rid of something I have used previously to mitigate an issue that appears to have resolved! All too often, a week after getting rid of such an item, the disability-mitigation need returns, agh! And can you find the equivalent again, whether new or secondhand? Double-agh (aka NO!). 🙄😬😡 18/x #assessment #decluttering #retention #removal #disability #mitigation

I also want to note how thankful I am for the assistance of friends and family for some of the more time-intensive decluttering and reorganising that has been done beyond what the hoarding specialist and I can reasonably accomplish in any given session. Given literally ALL of the above in this long, meandering (but ultimately cogent, I promise!) story, it is a blessing beyond description that I can be laid flat-out from #disability issues and another person be able to make progress without my direct oversight. There is still much to do, but the specialist and I have been making steady progress throughout our time together, and those more intensive periods of help with knowlegable family and friends has improved some things beyond my wildest hopes. 🙂 19/x #assistance #support #HoardingDisorder #decluttering #disability #accessibility

Because of course, *I* did not have a meat tenderiser. I had an oddly-specificly-designed thing that pokes holes. Given that I am unlikely to use a meat tenderiser due to #arthritis being incompatible with handling cold meat, the reasonable thing to do is pop that gadget in one of the #decluttering boxes and #donate it to charity. But I had had *some* successes using it purely as a pre-patterned hole-making device, so I said, "It's small, so I will keep it for now." To be clear, this sort of logic is not very helpful in decluttering generally. It would be perfectly fair to talk me into getting rid of it sooner than later, as there are doubtless many objects in my care that are still here for no better reason. Just because one might someday have a purpose for an object is a risky thought pattern for people with #HoardingDisorder, imo. 25/x #objects #things #usefulness #purpose