hoarding and depression

Clutter, Hoarding and Depression

posted in: Clutter to Clarity™

Depression comes with symptoms like insomnia, overeating, and sadness. The same symptoms can affect clutterers and hoarders alike. Life can seem difficult and stressful at times and with this feeling hopelessness can ensue. Here are five common symptoms attributed to depression and how they factor in with clutter and hoarding.

 

Sleep Problems

This is a significant symptom of depression and it causes a change in the way a person sleeps. Individuals with depression may have problems both with getting too much sleep and not getting enough. When a person does not get enough rest, a clutterer can feel exhausted and overwhelmed at attempting even the smallest decluttering tasks.

 

Eating Problems

Depression causes an unbalanced eating pattern for many people. Depressed people can either stop eating enough or eat too much. Either way, the clutterer’s energy levels are affected and impacted in a negative way. This causes a lack of energy, which is another symptom of depression. Low energy can cause a person to feel a lack of motivation and that can make it difficult to make any progress with decluttering projects.

 

Hopeless or Negative Thoughts

When depressed, people can succumb to feelings of hopeless or negative thinking. Negative thinking can also be comprised of sad or anxious thoughts as well as an angry mood. When negative thinking becomes a habit it can create negative beliefs. When someone is under the sway of a negative or hopeless mood, they may see no point to doing small, insignificant tasks like cleaning out a cluttered drawer.

 

Clutterers are often highly critical people. They take their negative thinking and tell themselves what they should do but when done, they never do anything right it seems. They can become emotionally paralyzed and can fee embarrassed.

 

If you feel any of these feelings, reach out to someone that you trust who is supportive and kind. You may be experiencing depression. This is not something you should deal with alone. Seek out professional help.

 

A medical practitioner can help you with cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT and hypnotherapy. These are well-documented ways to treat depression. A trained hypnotherapist is a professional that can use hypnosis to help you overcome negative emotions and replace them with positive feelings. When getting help, work with someone trained in helping clutterers and hoarders so that you can take the first steps towards a new and better life.