Children of Hoarders: How to Minimize Conflict, Reduce the Clutter, and Improve Your Relationship
Language: English
Pages: 200
ISBN: 1608824381
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Growing up with a hoarder can be a confusing, painful, and sometimes dangerous experience. And when it comes to finding help for a hoarder parent, many adult children find themselves taking on the exhausting role of caretaker. As the child of a hoarder, you may be wondering what resources are available to you.
Written by nationally recognized obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) expert Fugen Neziroglu, a regular on the popular TLC television series, Hoarders, Children of Hoarders explores strategies for communicating with hoarder parents and outlines practical intervention skills. In addition, the book shows readers how to let go of the personal shame and guilt associated with being the child of a hoarder.
Using mindfulness, acceptance, assertiveness and validation skills, this is the first book written specifically for adult children of hoarders that focuses on the interpersonal effects of hoarding. Inside, you will learn to communicate with your loved ones in a way that minimizes conflict, while still dealing with the logistical and organizational issues that arise when living with or witnessing hoarding behavior. The book also includes tips for reclaiming living space, strategies for ensuring that the health and safety of residents is not compromised by the hoarder’s living conditions, and organizational tactics for sorting through the clutter after the death of a parent who hoards.
As the child of a hoarder, sometimes it can be helpful to know that you are not alone. In Children of Hoarders, you will get the support that you need to deal with your hoarder parent, and reclaim your own life in the process.
would that be fair to my daughter, but I cannot afford to live on my own. I am desperate and I feel completely backed into an incredibly cluttered corner. —Jennifer If you, like Jennifer, are living with your parent who hoards, there is no doubt that not only does it affect you emotionally, but also it inconveniences you immensely every day. In this chapter, we aim to help you improve your quality of life, as well as to help you identify whether you will stay or leave, and, if you will leave,
way to come to a compromise? Reaching a compromise with your parent is just the beginning, because it is likely that at some point both you and your parent will fall short of meeting your respective ends of the bargain. It may be a good idea to schedule frequent “family meetings” at regular times, for the purpose of discussing how well both of you are keeping to the terms of the contract. If you are frustrated with your parent’s lack of compliance with the contract, do not lose sight of your
and family members to help with child care. What obstacles stand in the way of each of these steps? I have only a few college credits toward a degree in business. I am underqualified for most positions that would pay adequately. And my friends and family members all have their own responsibilities and their own priorities. It is difficult to find volunteers. As you can see, the process of distilling a solution involves stating the goal and carefully outlining the obstacles that stand in the way
Disorder (OCPD) OCPD is characterized by extreme behavioral rigidity or inflexibility. People with OCPD adhere to a strict set of rules or restrictions, which they often try to force others to follow as well. They show obsessive preoccupation with certain topics in the same way that people with OCD do, and they also carry out compulsive behaviors in response to obsessions. The foremost difference between OCD and OCPD is that those with OCD are very distressed by the presence of obsessive or
the town or city hall and ask for guidance; or they may make a report to the police or fire department. Often the police department will not intervene if there has been no outright disturbance, such as a fight. On the other hand, the fire department may come and look around the house for any indication of a fire hazard. Normally, they would not be able to enter the house without permission when doing such an inspection. However, neighbors who call the town or city hall will often be directed to