Cleansing and Clearing are often a New Year’s Resolution. For some this seems an insurmountable task. Why? Because we can’t throw it away, we may need it someday. By Christa Lore Urban This is the call of the hoarder. The fear of loss and lack are not cured by hoarding. The energy of this behavior can block abundance. If your environment is full of stuff, there is not room for more. Simple cause and effect. To bring in the new we have to move out the old. As I have walked my shaman path over the past several years I found my healers journey has taken me through many cleansings. This cleansing has not only been on a spiritual level but in the physical world too. I am talking about my personal experience with a hoarding disorder, and helping to restore the balance of energy in some one’s home. I say personal and not just professional because it runs in my family. I had to help move my parents out of their home of 40 years. It was the requisite downsizing of a life. Their health not good and a supervised living situation were being created at my sister’s home. Even after the sorting, the garage sale, and the donations, there was a 40 foot dumpster that we filled with stuff. That was the day I knew that stuff really had no meaning for me. My spiritual healing was complete. In earlier times in my life I could see that I may have travelled the path to hoarding but my connection with spirit and healing and therapy work saved me from that. Now the image of hoarding conjures the TV news drama bug infested scary piles of newspapers but that is an extreme case and end stage. My mother was a compulsively neat hoarder. This being a direct result of her German Upbringing. The case of hoarding behavior in the post-depression and post-World War II era people one can see a small amount of logic because they did suffer through times of lack and war. But others with the disorder have never seen lack, war or suffering. So how does this disorder manifest and how can it be treated? Hoarding disorder will soon become listed as its own in diagnosis in The DSMV the manual that lists all mental health disorders. It was formerly thought to be a behavioral component of OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. It is seen in that diagnosis. Hoarding also can be seen with other mental health disorders, such as depression and bi-polar. It is a body mind and spirit disorder that has biochemical and behavior components. It can be developed as a response to abuse, trauma and part of a PTSD picture. The brain has been studied on MRI flow study that certain areas of the brain react differently in the compulsive hoarder. The response and decision making responses are altered. A hoarder is not able to make the choices about what to throw away. So in my journeys I have helped with the physical, and psychological clean up of this hoarding behavior. Is it a disease? No, I feel it is a symptom of soul sickness. Trying to fill emotional holes and cope without addressing the hidden issue. It is a problem of control and environment. The harder the hoarder tries to get control of their emotions their life moves further away. The stuff hoarded is an emotional shield to some. In Feng Shui terms they are blocking the chi of their environment. The stagnant chi does not help the physical or emotional environment. Family members need to be involved with the recovery of a hoarder. It does affect everyone in the living situation. Many times the hoarder is allowed to continue this behavior to keep the calm in the household. There is a difference between an avid collector and a hoarder. The collector neatly organizes and categorizes items, enjoys displaying items. A hoarder will save anything but there is not a clear order. Piles and boxes accumulate overwhelming the space in a home, blocking the energy and potentially increased the perceived discomfort. So how is this treated? The approach is multi-level. The physical environment must be cleared. The Chi of a living situation is important. It won’t be done by the hoarder. A professional crew or family will need to help with the accumulated belongings and assorted items. Many times they may even be the discards of others retrieved from the trash. This clearing and cleaning will cause discomfort and panic attacks. Some will try to physically stop the things from being removed. In many cases it is best to remove the hoarder from the premises while the clearing is being done. This is the time a qualified therapist or healer needs to be involved. Counseling and education to deal with the panic attacks and other psychological symptoms that may arise is the first step. Further counsel and education to the family that is involved could destabilize the person; they need to be observant of their loved one. This needs to be handled like a death in the family. The reactions may be that strong. They will be reacting in a grief process. The underlying issues will then be able to be dealt with. This can take many therapy and healing sessions. If the root cause is abuse and trauma the healing work must be done for that. This could trigger a PTSD type of attack. The hoarder should not be alone if they are prone to self harm and gestures of suicide. Caution must be used in those currently being treated with anti-depressants that have been started recently. I suggest Back Flower Rescue Remedy as a holistic aid in this situation. It is wonderful for the anxiety and panic feelings. It doesn’t block the individual mentally as a tranquilizer would. Using medications to control behavior does not help the individual process the issues. It blocks emotions chemically, it does not heal the root cause. It will take some time and work to for those afflicted with this disorder. The New Year and The New Age is a good time to start a new life. Free yourself from the emotional bondage of belongings and hoarding. The many healers involved with Bellesprit can help with all aspects of this. I am happy to consult with you and if I can’t help, I will refer you to the right person.
Christa Lore Urban has been an informative and entertaining guest on CBS radio, Mixtalk and Blogtalk shows as well as Liquid Lunch Show, Streaming TV from Toronto. In 2011 she placed 5th in The International Psychic Challenge in Ukraine as seen on STB Television. She is a frequent contributor to several other Metaphysical Publications. For more information about Christa, visit her website: http://www.christaloreurban.com/Views:]]>
