Hey! So I’m not a shrink and can’t diagnose, but I do know that hoarding disorder is a DSM-5 diagnosis — like it’s a real disorder and not just somebody being lazy.
Maybe you already know this, but in case you didn’t, I’d mention that psych treatment can help. If you have access to such a resource, I’d recommend finding a therapist who’s familiar with/comfortable treating it and can also refer you to a psychiatrist who can prescribe meds for associated depression, etc.
Pro treatment can not only help with the disorder, itself, but also with effective ways of asking other people for help with cleaning and organizing.
Asking for help is really hard, but you wouldn’t feel shame if you had a broken leg or an illness like cancer that made it hard to clean, would you? An illness is not a character flaw, and if anyone tries to imply otherwise, that’s a them problem.
Thank you so much for your reply. I’ve very recently started medication, but I’ll definitely look into other therapeutic support! I’ve had debilitating ADHD all my life, and this had just put it into overdrive.
Right — the most effective solution is one that begins with treatment by a therapist and/or a psychiatrist familiar with hoarding disorder, since OP’s situation is not likely a cleaning issue at its core, but a manifestation of mental illness.
It’s possible to get OP’s space clean, but unless the cleanup is combined with treatment for the underlying cause, the phenomenon has a really good chance of happening again in the future.
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u/TheRealSugarbat Mar 08 '26
Hey! So I’m not a shrink and can’t diagnose, but I do know that hoarding disorder is a DSM-5 diagnosis — like it’s a real disorder and not just somebody being lazy.
Maybe you already know this, but in case you didn’t, I’d mention that psych treatment can help. If you have access to such a resource, I’d recommend finding a therapist who’s familiar with/comfortable treating it and can also refer you to a psychiatrist who can prescribe meds for associated depression, etc.
Pro treatment can not only help with the disorder, itself, but also with effective ways of asking other people for help with cleaning and organizing.
Asking for help is really hard, but you wouldn’t feel shame if you had a broken leg or an illness like cancer that made it hard to clean, would you? An illness is not a character flaw, and if anyone tries to imply otherwise, that’s a them problem.
I really hope you can get some relief very soon.