Homecare: You may think that the only problems your senior has to worry about are physical, however, seniors can face many other problems, such as mental illness, or destructive behaviors such as hoarding.
This can be especially exaggerated as many seniors live at home alone or with few people, meaning it is easier for things to pile up on each other. Read on to learn more about what hoarding is, possible mental causes for it, and how to assist a senior who is exhibiting hoarding behaviors. Homecare assistance may be a good option for you.
What Is Hoarding?
Hoarding is when someone accumulates many items without disposing of/getting rid of any of them. This leads to an influx of material items that often pile up in one’s home in large piles. While hoarding is still being studied, it is thought that it could arise from mental afflictions similar to OCD or depression, causing individuals to have an extremely hard time parting with material goods.
Most people who are affected by hoarding don’t know it or make justifications for their actions. Some common justifications are that they have a sentimental connection to an object (regardless of if it is true) and that it could serve a future purpose.
Seniors and Hoarding
As mentioned above, seniors can have a larger risk of hoarding. This is due to multiple things, first of all with the standard location/lifestyle of seniors. Most seniors (especially those without personal care at home), are often alone or with few people for most of the day, making it very easy to start accumulating objects for entertainment.
In addition to this, most studies show that for some reason, the risk of becoming a hoarder increases as you age. Scientists think that this could either be due to mental cognition failures with age such as dementia or due to the senior wanting to cope with newfound feelings of isolation as they age.
Spotting and Treating Hoarding Behaviors
In order to help your senior, you must first know if they really are hoarding. If your senior is just messy and has a little bit of clutter, this is not hoarding. Hoarding behaviors are often described as when someone has strong and persistent difficulties parting with material objects due to a perceived present/future need of them.
In order to help your senior, you really just have to find a professional. This can be as simple of bringing up the topic in their next check-up, allowing their primary care physician to connect you with one. In other cases, you can also search for a professional therapist/counselor who specializes in OCD, hoarding behaviors, or elderly patients.
Conclusion:
In the end, hoarding can become a very scary thing, as with so many objects it can pose a falling or injury risk, especially to the elderly. With this, it is important to know the risk factors, and how hoarding is actually exhibited in most seniors. If you believe your senior is hoarding, it may be wise to bring it up at their next doctor’s appointment, or to even look for a counselor yourself!
Homecare can help your senior to clean out their home and limit their hoarding. Personal care at home caregivers can also help your senior with everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and transportation. Call us today and see if personal care at home is right for you!
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Homecare in Culver City, CA, please call Mom's Home Care and talk to our friendly, knowledgeable staff.
Our number is: 323-244-4789
Sources:
https://nhcoa.org/compulsive-hoarding-in-older-adults/
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/hoarding-disorder/what-is-hoarding-disorder
