The coronavirus disease leaves a long shadow of discomfort behind some of us, as the loneliness lingers
Professional Social Work Magazine (PSA) asks if Covid caused long hoarding, after we no longer needed emergency supplies. We investigate the evidence for this, and how to know whether someone, even one of us has the condition.
Is Covid a Perfect Storm for Hoarding?
UK Campaign Group Clouds End warns a new generation of hoarders is emerging, as support and home visits recede. Campaign director Heather Matuozzo told PSA “Hoarding has been on the increase since Covid.
“Most people who hoard are trauma sufferers,” she explained. “They are anxious people, and we found the pandemic was very scary to people.” It certainly seems probable Covid caused long hoarding among some people who initially started stacking up on toilet paper. Heather Matuozzo continues by describing what she calls a ‘triple surge’.
- A number of people were already hoarding, but their friends did not know.
- Others previously under treatment lapsed, because their support dried up.
- A third group went into what she calls ‘panic mode’ and became hoarders.
The question becomes how to help people, where Covid caused long hoarding that refuses to go away. The condition is nothing new. What can we cut and paste from the past, and what we know worked?
Causes of Long Hoarding after Covid
It’s natural for us to stock up to meet particular circumstances. Some of us built up reserves before the Christmas rush, and enjoyed missing the stampede. However, hoarding becomes a problem when it goes on and on, and this is certainly nothing new.
- Various shocking events, including divorce and bereavement can trigger the condition.
- PSA Magazine suggests it can occur after parents failed to teach their kids to organise themselves.
- Whatever the reason, some 1.2 million people in UK suffer the effects of hoarding.
- There’s some evidence a surge of people became hoarders during Covid by shopping online.
If Covid Caused Long Hoarding Then?
Social campaigners have suggested reminding adult social care services, emergency services, local authority housing providers, social housing landlords, and social workers generally the problem has not gone away. Heather Matuozzo from Clouds End summarizes the situation as follows:
- The big issue with any support worker is their reaction to hoarding.
- Professionals can be traumatised by going into a hoarded home.
- They impulsively want the stuff to go, because they are in fight or flight.
- But they can only become useful, when they get a grip of what is happening.
What to Do When Hoarding Strikes?
National Institutes of Health stresses people do not choose to be hoarders. Those parodies on television obscure the reality that it could become us, a friend or a neighbour. “This is a very real mental disorder,” they cite David Tolin of Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living saying.
Real Disorder Behind a Covid Concern
“It is important to recognize that people with hoarding disorder have lost control of their decision-making abilities,” David Tolin explains. They are not being sloppy either. We need to understand their brain activity is different.”
“We’re always puzzled by the fact that many people with hoarding disorder often don’t seem terribly bothered by their circumstance,” David Tolin continues. “If they don’t have to make a decision, then the parts of their brain that are largely in charge of becoming bothered are under-active.
“But if they are forced to decide about whether to discard something, that part of the brain becomes overactive. And so, the brain is essentially screaming that everything is important. Doctors don’t know what causes hoarding disorder. There’s no X-ray or blood test for a diagnosis. Instead, doctors assess how well people are functioning in their lives.”
What If Hoarding Affects Us Directly
If we find ourselves increasingly surrounded by clutter, then it might be time to speak to our doctor. However, if the person involved is a neighbour, family member or friend, then we may need to be more subtle when opening a conversation. National Institutes of Health suggests the following strategy.
Compulsive hoarders view their world from a slightly different mind-set compared to the rest of us. To them, we are the ones slightly out of step. So they see no reason to change, and indeed can dig their heels in permanently if we pressure them.
The best we can do as ‘mere mortals’ is try to make their life a little easier, and safer too while we can. However, if the hoarding becomes radical, then it may be time to engage a doctor, or a psychologist who is also a competent talk therapist.
