This summer, the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library in Chester Springs, PA, hosted a youth mental health awareness event in partnership with PBS Books and WETA. The event addressed the early signs of mental illness in youth and aired the Ken Burns’s documentary Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness. Some of the mental illnesses addressed in this event included depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and others that are classified as components of hoarding disorders. Hoarding is a very complex issue that creates a dangerous situation for the person exhibiting this behavior, any loved ones exposed to it, and even the home space itself. If you are facing a home space that has been exposed to hoarding behaviors, the cleanup process should always be done by a professional team with the right equipment, protective gear, and solutions. ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning and Restoration provides complete services for hoarding cleanup in Chester Springs, PA, and surrounding communities.
Professional Hoarding Cleanup
Even if live animals or other biohazards aren’t involved in the hoarding situation, hoarding cleanup should be done by professional technicians because hoarder spaces have unknown dangers, the space can be structurally unsound, and toxic substances may be hidden in all the clutter.
Hoarding Cleanup Causes
If you suspect a loved one is starting to or showing signs of a severe hoarding situation, you may be able to help them find the support and mental healthcare they need before their home and physical health is seriously impacted.
Some early signs of hoarding disorder include:
Hiding parts of the home:
If your loved one is sectioning off parts of his or her home with curtains or closed doors that no one is allowed into, he or she may be hiding some areas affected by hoarding. Most people impacted by hoarding disorders will try to hide their symptoms as long as possible.
Difficulties with Hoarding Cleanup:
If spaces in your loved one’s home take a long time to clean and are much more difficult to declutter than usual, they may be dealing with anxiety around the organizing and clearing most people find normal.
Compulsive shopping:
One symptom of a hoarding disorder is compulsive shopping. Anxiety and depression related to hoarding can lead to seeking comfort in buying objects and collecting more and more items.
Debt or unpaid bills:
Hoarding disorders can take over a person’s life in many ways. With severe depression or anxiety combined with compulsive shopping, many people with hoarding disorders also accumulate debt or pile up unpaid bills.
Overly protective of items:
Hoarded items hold marked importance to those with hoarding disorders. It can also be very detrimental to remove items without the permission and acceptance of a loved one with a hoarding disorder.
When your loved one is finally ready to start the process of hoarding cleanup in Chester Springs, PA, contact ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning and Restoration at (610) 524-8003 to reach our main office in Exton, PA.