Is clutter affecting your health or wellbeing, or both? Then fill in this form and take it to your GP

You can now follow @HoardingIceBreakerForm on Facebook

Feeling unwell, overwhelmed or at the end of our tether because of clutter, disorganisation or hoarding is a much more common, debilitating and potentially life-changing problem than you might think. 

Chronic Disorganisation 
Chores that some people find easy can be a nightmare for others - like filing paperwork, time-keeping, meal-planning, money management or quickly finding things that have been put away in that safe place - so safe you can't remember where it is! 

Juggling a busy lifestyle or having to cope with expected or unexpected life events doesn't help, and add to that an existing health condition - or one that you may not even know you have - and it can become overwhelming and a recipe for disaster.

We regularly hear of people who feel so anxious or embarrassed about their chronically disorganised homes that they won't allow people in - even when they have no heating, hot water or electricity, and are in desperate need of help and support from trades people such as plumbers, electricians or heating engineers.

It can affect a person's health, their relationships and their ability to function normally - in their home, in their personal life and sometimes at work too.

Hoarding behaviours
And then there's the more extreme end of the clutter spectrum - hoarding behaviours - which involves three main problems:

• Excessive and compulsive acquisition of items - some of which may appear to be useless or of limited value to many people
• Extreme difficulty letting them go 
• Having so many possessions that it prevents or precludes the use of living spaces for what they were designed for

In June 2018 the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified Hoarding Disorder as a mental illness, although only specialists will be able to diagnose it.  

It's estimated that between 2%-6% of the population exhibit hoarding behaviour.  And in England* The Care Act 2014 classifies hoarding as potentially being self-neglect. Which means GPs and agencies coming into contact with hoarders should report patients exhibiting hoarding behaviours who are self-neglecting to the local authority, so that it can be investigated by the local Safeguarding team.

*There may be slightly different arrangements for Scotland and Wales

Concerned relatives, friends & neighbours

It's often concern over a loved one, friend or neighbour who exhibits these behaviours that causes heartache or health problems for the relatives or friends who are at their wits end to know how to help them change.  

Especially as excessive amounts of clutter creates high safety risks, not only for the people living in a property, but also neighbours and public safety services such as the Fire & Rescue Service (FRS) who get called out in the event of an emergency.  

When someone's safety, health or wellbeing is affected, it's time to take action.
The ice-breaker form helps people overcome the awkwardness or embarrassment of not knowing where to start the conversation about health problems related to extreme clutter, hoarding and disorganisation.   

It's important to note that GPs assess and treat patients all the time for conditions which can make organising difficult, such as:

• Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC - including Asperger's)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder(ADD or ADHD)
• Fybromyalgia 
• According to the NHS website, this long-term condition causes pain all over the body, as well as fatigue (extreme tiredness); increased sensitivity to pain; problems with mental processes (known as "fibro-fog") such as problems with memory and concentration; difficulty sleeping and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• OCD
• Dyslexia 
• It's not just about problems with reading, writing and spelling - symptoms can also include poor organisation and time-management 
• Dyspraxia - affects movement and co-ordination
• Anxiety 
• Depression
• Brain tumours and brain injuries
• Stress-related illness

Click here to download a list of examples of some of the medical conditions and other contributory factors that may be encountered when working with people who have clutter, chronic disorganisation or hoarding issues.

So how do you ask for help using the Ice-Breaker form? 
The idea is that people download the ice-breaker form, tick the relevant boxes and present it to their GP, or other medical professional. 

The Ice-Breaker form can be downloaded from these websites

We're delighted that our friends at the following organisations have kindly endorsed the use of the form, which can be downloaded from their websites:

• Hoarding UK - the UK charity for people affected by hoarding, and organiser of the UK's first National Hoarding Conference in May 2018
• Help for Hoarders - a website for compulsive hoarders and their families 
• Clouds End CIC - the UK's first social enterprise for helping hoarders, founded by hoarding campaigner Heather Matuozzo, who was a consultant to the BBC for their 2012 and 2013 documentaries, “Britain’s Biggest Hoarders” (the 2012 documentary won the MIND Media award).
• Hoarding Disorders UK CIC - a Berkshire-based Community Interest Company co-founded by Jo Cooke, author of the insightful and compassionate go-to book "Understanding Hoarding" that has deservedly received numerous 5* reviews on Amazon.
• Life-Pod Clutter Management CIC - a Scottish social enterprise founded by pioneering chronic disorganisation and hoarding behaviour specialist and trainer Linda Fay - organiser of the International Hoarding, Health & Housing Conference in Edinburgh in October 2018
• Hoarding Awareness Week - the annual event (originally started by the Chief Fire Officers Association in 2014) to raise awareness of hoarding and reduce the stigmas associated with it.

The ice-breaker can be used to start a conversation about yourself or someone you're worried about if your health has been affected, and includes tick-box statements like:

□   It’s hard for me/them to talk about this

□   I/they feel alone and need support

□   Other people don’t seem to understand

□ I/they feel distressed, and/or indecisive about what to do to make things better

□ I’ve/They’ve become secretive/ withdrawn about this situation

□   My/their self-confidence/self-esteem is very low

□   I/they feel very uncomfortable about/reluctant to change

□   It can be hard for me/them to live normally/work/study/travel/pay bills/make or keep friendships and relationships

□   I/they have been notified by the Local Authority/my Landlord/other agency that action will be taken if I/they don’t do something soon (explain which agency – eg. bank, landlord, Environmental Health, Family Liaison, boss, etc)

□   Family/friends/neighbours have taken (or have threatened to take) matters into their own hands

□   I/they don’t feel I/they have anyone to talk to who would actively listen empathetically and/or non-judgementally to my/their concerns

□   I feel out of my depth with my knowledge of how to help and/or support my relative/ friend/colleague, or myself 

And asks the Medical Professional to "Please talk me through the types of help and support that could empower me to feel better".

The form also includes an extract from the Clutter Image Rating Scale on the back, as the FRS like to know whenever Level 5 or above is reached, so they can visit and do a Safe & Well visit (also known as a Home Fire Safety visit) and discuss the risks with the resident, advise on actions that can be taken to make things safer, including emergency evacuation plans and perhaps fitting free smoke detectors.

What can the GP do to help?
Helping people whose health has been affected by chronic disorgansiation and/or hoarding is rarely a quick fix.  

Recently we heard about a case where someone (who exhibited hoarding behaviours and had all sorts of health problems due to their complex situation) had completed the ice-breaker and ticked every single box except one.

The GP used the ticked responses in the questionnaire to ask further questions about the patient's symptoms and difficulties, which gave him a better understanding of the problems the patient was facing - which included potentially being evicted.

The GP referred the patient for blood tests; prescribed treatment for various health problems; referred them for counselling for mental health problems (including anxiety and depression), and an assessment for Autism and ADHD.  And because the patient was self-neglecting they were also referred to the local Adult Safeguarding Board.  

A multi-agency team was formed, which enabled the patient to get advocacy help and support, and lead to intervention from specialist Professional Hoarding Practitioners.  

The Professional Hoarding Practitioners used an holistic and practical person-centered approach to empower the patient/client to make decisions which resulted in the number of possessions gradually being reduced, and the safety risks associated with the cluttered property being significantly reduced too - to the extent that the eviction was cancelled.  

The patient continues to have therapy and work with the multi-agency team which is supporting them. As a result, the patient's anxiety levels have reduced, their health has improved and they are now attending a hoarding support group.

Act now, before your health deteriorates any more....
If you or someone you know feels unwell as a result of clutter or disorganisation and don't know who to turn to, please don't poo-poo their difficulties and tell them to snap out of it - it's likely to make them feel worse.

Instead, why not suggest that they click here to download this simple to use ice-breaker document, fill it in and hand it to their GP at their next appointment?

Because life's too short for your health to be ruled by clutter or disorganisation.


SURVEY:  Please let me know how you get on using the Ice-Breaker form by completing this survey (click here).  

                     Thank you.

COME AND SAY "HELLO"


Past events:
We're excited be having a stand at the following events:
- Fastminds Neurodiversity Festival - 14th September 2018 - The Empire, 161a Clarence St, Kingston, KT1 1QT
- Walton-on-Thames Fire Station Open Day - Saturday 15th September 2018
- The National Hoarding Conference on 14th May 2018, at the start of National Hoarding Awareness Week.

Originally published July 2015 - updated May 2018, June 2018, August 2018


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Guardian article: Extreme hoarding of extreme memorabilia (the man who sleeps in Hitler's bed)

Alex Preston wrote an excellent article in today's Guardian newspaper about Kevin Wheatcroft, an extreme collector who lives in Leicestershire, and who has a fascination for collecting German World War 2 and Nazi memorabilia. MASSES of memorabilia, known as the Wheatcroft Collection.

Many who read the article may find Mr Wheatcroft’s seemingly fanatical collecting shocking, abhorrent and disrespectful to the millions of people who suffered and died as a result of atrocities ordered by a fanatical leader.  And I can see their point.

To those of us who are related to AND work with hoarders, the article gives an absorbing insight into a person who demonstrates classic hoarding behaviour, and who has finally come to realise the burden of his situation.  

Mr Wheatcroft inherited his interest in collecting (plus a construction business, properties and Donnington Park Racetrack and motor museum) from his late father - Tom Wheatcroft - who rescued Donnington Park Racetrack from closure back in 1971.

It just so happens that the main focus of Kevin Wheatcroft’s hoarding (some may say it’s collecting) isn't something that is as socially acceptable like things we see in the media or I see at my client's houses such as newspapers, clothes, shoes, Star Wars models, Lego, light bulbs, dolls house paraphernalia or Snoopy mugs.

Collectors generally proudly display their collection, and may swap pieces and talk to other collectors. Whereas people who hoard may feel shame, rarely allow others into their houses and are less likely to talk about it.

I've come across loads of hoarders who want to achieve what Mr Wheatcroft has said he wants to achieve – “saving” items for future generations to see, to learn about the past. Usually though, my clients do tend to fill their homes with more mundane/less expensive or exclusive things like newspapers or Royal Family memorabilia!

Mr Wheatcroft has the money, expertise and inclination to bypass your average car boot sale, charity shop or skip and go straight to the country of origin, shipping "treasures" back to the UK by the container-load. 

Unlike many hoarders, Mr Wheatcroft’s hoarding habit isn’t so severe that it prevents or precludes the use of living spaces for what they were designed for, primarily because he has pots of money to continually buy more space (and probably have people to clear/clean up after him).

Whilst Mr Wheatcroft’s acquiring habit and difficulty discarding items may have caused or could cause significant distress or impairment for him or his family members, the ones who are likely to demonstrate the most about his collection/hoard are those who object to what they perceive to be his glorification of an evil era by collecting artefacts from it.

The general characteristics of hoarding were recently outlined in an excellent Hoarding Framework document written by a team headed by the LOVELY Sally Savage of Nottingham Fire & Rescue Service's Persons at Risk Team (one of my colleagues on the Chief Fire Officer's Association's Hoarding Working Group). 

• Fear and anxiety: compulsive hoarding may have started as a learnt behaviour or following a significant event such as bereavement.  The person who is hoarding believes buying or saving things will relieve the anxiety and fear they feel.  The hoarding effectively becomes their comfort blanket.  Any attempt to discard the hoarded items can induce feelings varying from mild anxiety to a full panic attack with sweats and palpitations.
• Long term behaviour pattern: possibly developed over many years or decades of ‘buy and drop’. Collecting and saving with an inability to throw away items without experiencing fear and anxiety.
• Excessive attachment to possessions: people who hoard may hold an inappropriate emotional attachment to items.
• Indecisiveness: people who hoard may struggle with the decision to discard items that are no longer necessary, including rubbish.
• Unrelenting standards: people who hoard will often find faults with others; requiring others to perform to excellence while struggling to organise themselves and complete daily living tasks.
• Socially isolated: people who hoard will typically alienate family and friends and may be embarrassed to have visitors.  They may refuse home visits from professionals, in favour of office based appointments.
• Large number of pets: people who hoard may have a large number of animals that can be a source of complaints by neighbours.  They may be a self-confessed ‘rescuer of strays’.
• Mentally competent: people who hoard are typically able to make decisions that are not related to hoarding.
• Extreme Clutter: hoarding behaviour may be in a few or all rooms and prevent them from being used for their intended purpose.
• Churning: hoarding behaviour can involve moving items from one part of the property to another, without ever discarding them.
• Self-care: a person who hoards may appear unkempt and dishevelled, due to lack of bathroom or washing facilities in their home.  However, some people who hoard will use public facilities in order to maintain their personal hygiene and appearance.
• Poor insight: a person who hoards will typically see nothing wrong with their behaviours and the impact it has on them and others. 

For Mr Wheatcroft, perhaps having the largest “collection” of Hitlers heads in the world might be satisfying in one way, but frustrating in another as it's not a COMPLETE collection - there are still others out there somewhere to be collected.  As a recovering perfectionist myself (as a result of being the daughter of a controlling hoarder with unrelenting standards), I can see where he might be coming from if this is the case.

Whatever his reasons, I'm glad Mr Wheatcroft has finally realised that it’s time to find people to catalogue and restore his hoard – I hope there are historians and museums queuing up to help him achieve his dream of displaying this collection to future generations.

Perhaps having real-life tanks in his garden reminds him of happy times as a child playing with Tonka toys, whilst sleeping in Hitler's bed makes him feel important and special.  

I’m an optimist, so I'd like to think Mr Wheatcroft isn't actually hoping that megalomania will transfer to him from the bed whilst he sleeps, and he will go on to rule The World as a result. 

Instead, I wonder if his actions might be subconsciously proving something to himself (and his late father):

• that he is free from the shadow of parental control (where unrelenting standards no longer apply), and capable of purchasing anything he wants without having to ask someone else for it.  Or perhaps….
• that he is as good as (or better than) his dad at collecting 

We may never know - only his therapist (or his professional organiser or the restorers or museum curators) may ever be privy to that kind of information. Which is a shame because I'd love to know more.