Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder is all about helping you understand that you don’t need to feel a strong need to keep things - anything.
Things don’t care about you, so you don’t have to care about them.
Letting go and creating space creates space for you to think of happier positive things.
Your daily life can be all about you NOT things, objects, clutter.
In effect your connection to these things that cause you distress can be dialled down and in some cases totally removed.
The eight signs that you might have hoarding disorder.
1. You constantly feel the need to get more things, even if you have a lot already.
2. You have very strong positive feelings whenever you get more things. You love the dopamine hit of shopping. The joy of pressing ‘BUY NOW’ online, or walking home with all the bags.
3. You can feel anxious at the thought of throwing things away. You’ve developed an emotional attachment to them. You don’t even have to know why.
4. You feel like you need to save the items, regardless of their monetary value. Old receipts for things you’ve long since forgotten what they were for, plus flyers for takeaways, local taxis, roofers. You keep old food cans, flatten and fold away old crisp packets.
5. It creates anxiety in you when you have to think about what to keep or what to get rid of.
6. Trying to organise things creates a conflict in you.
7. You have so many things that you can't use your home normally. For example, use parts of the place you live in – like you can’t sleep on your bed, or use the sink.
8. You constantly argue with people close to you about your things.
What might have caused your hoarding disorder?
Many of us have belongings we consider special and things we save.
But this is different from hoarding. When you hoard, it's because you have emotional connections or beliefs about all your things. This makes it virtually impossible to get rid of anything.
For example, you might believe:
. You need to keep items 'just in case' - even if it's been a long time since you last used the item, or if you've never used it at all
. You'll forget important information or memories if you throw things away
. You won't cope with how you'll feel if you throw things away
. Throwing things away will harm other people, or the environment
. If you throw anything away you're being wasteful
. You should arrange or dispose of things perfectly, or not at all
. Your things make you feel happy, or keep you safe
. Your things are all unique and special, even if they're very similar
. You simply need more storage space, or more time to sort your things out.
Lots of us share some of these beliefs about certain belongings. But we don't feel as strongly about them.
If you struggle with hoarding these beliefs have become hard wired in you and affect your day-to-day life.
Hoarding or collecting?
Collecting is specific. It involves saving certain types of items, such as vinyl records or stamps.
You'll carefully choose them and normally order them in some way, such as in display cases or folders.
Hoarding doesn't involve organisation in a way that makes the items easy to access or use.
Someone who doesn't recognise they have a hoarding problem might call themselves a 'collector'. They might not see their behaviour as any different to collectors.
But it is.
It’s not a hobby, it’s an obsession.
What triggers hoarding?
Hoarding is triggered by a complex mix of genetics, brain functioning, psychological factors like low self-esteem, and stressful life events - a trauma.
It is also often linked to other mental health conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and dementia, as well as brain injuries, autism, and ADHD. Difficulties in decision-making, memory, or processing information, along with childhood experiences in cluttered homes, or with poor family relationships, can also feed in to create a hoarder.
What is Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder?
To answer, “What is Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder?” Firstly I need to answer what, exactly, is hypnotherapy?
Put simply it’s a relaxed and perfectly natural state where you focus your mind on my words.
And being relaxed makes it easy for me to ‘talk’ to your subconscious. Change the message for the better.
It’s why I called my company The Gentle Mind. When we’re calm we’re a better version of ourselves. We find it easy to do the right thing, not hurt ourselves. Be the best version possible of ourselves.
We are being kind to ourselves.
What hypnotherapy is NOT is mind control.
It’s only done with your agreement and you only accept messages that you choose to accept.
It’s as simple as that.
How Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder can help
These are the most common challenges we can look at and make them mean less/nothing at all to you.
Reframing emotional attachment to possessions. You understand that things don’t care about you. You can even get to the point of enjoying letting go - feeling free.
Dialling down your anxiety and decision-making paralysis. It becomes a natural reflexive state to just decide about things.
You change your behaviour at the deepest level - you build motivation and new habits.
We take away the underlying trauma or loss that caused the hoarding disorder in the first place.
What a Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder session looks like
I need to know what success would look and feel like for you. It’s all about getting you to a place where you want to be.
Also you understanding this might not be easy, but I’m here to help.
A phrase I use a lot is that, “I'm here to help you be comfortable feeling uncomfortable" - that’s your growth zone. Where you change for the better for good.
I then teach you self hypnosis and introduce the idea that you can change. I do that through relaxation and guided suggestions.
Then there’s homework. That’s you practicing hypnosis between our sessions and journaling/keeping a Thought Diary.
The benefits of hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder
Hypnotherapy is a kind and gentle way of changing your behaviour, of helping you get emotional release and clarity.
And by creating this state of calm it becomes easier for you to improve your decision-making around possessions. In effect, you have enhanced self-control and reduced overwhelming moments.
It feels easier to change.
Other benefits include:
you save on storage. A lot of hoarders end up renting storage units. It's a cost that adds up and only goes up as you hoard more.
health and hygiene. Hoarding can create a rodent problem. The dark warm places between the piles of paper and bin bags easily become homes for rats and mice. Damp and mould can also appear.
What are the limitations and considerations?
Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder is not a “quick fix.” But the sooner you start, the sooner you’re out the other side.
It’s a bit like the saying about turning a supertanker around.
But committing to change is the first part. The acknowledge meant that your behaviour is unsustainable is the moment you start to weaken the hold hoarding disorder has over you.
It also takes belief in the process. You and the hypnotherapist have to have a bond, the therapeutic alliance.
If that’s not present the whole exercise is going nowhere.
You need to give the hypnotherapist feedback about what’s working and what’s not.
Getting Started with Hypnotherapy
I like to start by showing you what hypnosis is as soon as possible.
The ability to ‘see’ in your mind’s eye that you can think yourself out of anything.
Basically you are NOT your thoughts.
To sum up.
Hypnotherapy for hoarding disorder can help you move on.
All you have to do its believe in yourself and enjoy the process - and that’s what I’m here for, to help you at every step of the way.
Talk to me.
I’m James Thomas. A Cognitive Behavioural Hypotherapist based in York, Leeds and Harrogate. Email me at jamesthomas@thegentlemind.co.uk or call me on 07787563099.
“We Are What We Tell Ourselves” is my mantra - and we can change the message whenever we like.
