At WSUP we welcome people with mental health issues and so we were pleased to offer Greenwich Council a space to hold its Buried in Treasures workshops, a bespoke CBT-based programme designed to help people who are affected by hoarding behaviour and excessive clutter in their homes.
People who hoard acquire an extreme number of items and store them in a chaotic way, resulting in unmanageable amounts of clutter. People are often reluctant to seek help because either they don’t see it as a problem, or they feel guilty and ashamed.
Millions of people in the UK are believed to be hoarders. Ian McPherson, workshop facilitator, said: “Hoarding behaviour is a serious problem, with many potential risks to the person who hoards including fire, trips and falls, lack of basic utilities such as heating and water, and social isolation. Risks are not always limited to the person who hoards, with hazards also existing for family members, neighbours and members of the emergency services. Hoarding disorder is now recognised by the NHS as a distinct mental health issue and is a growing problem in the UK. It is also a highly stigmatising issue which often elicits feelings of considerable shame and embarrassment in those it affects. We felt it was really important to offer a support group for people who hoard; currently the only one in South East London.”
WSUP guest Brenda took part in the workshops.
“At the beginning I was thinking ‘How am I going to get through this?’ but I decided I had to be positive and realistic. I couldn’t go to the workshop when it was at the town hall, I felt claustrophobic, but I was comfortable at WSUP.
“I’ve been through an awful lot in my life and had lots of things taken from me. I lost lots of people at once who were close to me. I see keeping things as a way of looking after myself. You want to take care of yourself because no one else will. I didn’t have very much as a child. My mother left me some money when she died and I bought myself things. When I was buying things I never knew that I would be in this position a few years later. I beat myself up thinking ‘Good god why did I do that?’
“People look at you as if you’ve got a mental illness when you’re a hoarder. I don’t agree with that. Although you’re struggling you know what’s happening. I’m generally happy go lucky. I’m quite a positive person but I do struggle with hoarding. I know my children worry about me but they can’t really help me, I have to help myself. I’m the one going through it not them.
“I liked the way the course got me to answer lots of questions. We got to share ideas and be in the company of people going through the same thing. I learnt to just spend half an hour sorting things and clearing things out and then have a break. Before I would spend hours trying to do it and it was too much. Now I separate things into three piles – things to keep, things to throw away and things to give to the charity shop. I was encouraged to talk about how I felt about letting things go.
“It was a very good course, I would encourage people to do it. On your own you struggle. There are days when you feel really low. It’s like a never-ending story, you have to battle with it constantly. I’ve still got work to do and it’s quite a challenge but I feel more confident now.”
Find out more about the Buried in Treasures workshop at the Woolwich Centre.
Photo by Nechirwan Kavian on Unsplash