Intro to Myth Busters
Over the course of 28 years working with people afflicted with hoarding (and long before it was diagnosed as a psychiatric disorder), we have heard many misconceptions, generalizations and stereotypes about hoarding.
In the weeks ahead, we will post some of these and look at them from a different point of view. We are calling this series “Hoarding Myth Busters”.
Myth #1: The Label…”Hoarder”
It is BERGFELD’s practice not to refer to a person burdened with hoarding as a “hoarder”. Think about it. We tend to turn a verb: “hoard”, into a noun, a label: “hoarder”. How easily we do this. We refer to a person who stutters as a “stutterer”. Even, one who ‘sins’ we call a “sinner”. To understand, respect and work with clients who hoard, it is helpful to see them as a whole person, who, coincidentally, has too much ‘stuff’. Someone labelled as a “hoarder” can feel misunderstood, not respected, even devalued, dismissed and reduced to a…label.
How do you describe, label a person afflicted with hoarding disorder?
