Why Your Elderly Parent Holds on to Everything

By Jamie Shapiro | November 18, 2016 | Comments Off on Why Your Elderly Parent Holds on to Everything

Elder Care in Highland Park IL

Hoarding is a serious problem that can happen to people of all ages, but is the most common in older adults. You may have noticed that your elderly loved ones holding on to magazines and Elder-Care-in-Highland-Park-ILnewspapers from several decades ago, broken dishes, and other miscellaneous items that may seem like junk to us. Before you get the urge to throw away the senior’s stuff, think about their reason behind holding on to it. Once you know why they do it, you may be able to rationally talk to them about letting go of those useless items.

 

Possible Causes of Hoarding

  • Sentimental value. Some of the clothing or objects saved by your loved one could be memorabilia from times in their life that they enjoyed. As important as these keepsakes are to the elder, they may enjoy the items just as much if pieces of fabric from their prom dress or other memorable clothing were used in a quilt or tickets and other papers were used in a scrapbook. The elder would still be able to enjoy the items with them taking up too much space.
  • Too exhausted to get rid of old things. The senior may be keeping all of their old mail, clothing, and other items out of pure exhaustion. Once the home begins to get too cluttered, the elder may become overwhelmed at the thought of trying to get rid of all of that stuff. You can help by eliminating some of their mail by signing them up for online payment options and getting the off of mailing lists. If there is too much clutter for you to handle, a professional organizer can be hired to do it for you.
  • Health problems. Has your loved one recently experienced a stroke, heart attack, or other life-changing illness? Then they may have been left unable to care for themselves and complete tasks they used to be able to do. An elder care provider may even be needed to assist with these challenging tasks. Consult with their doctor in order to come up with a solution for their inability to manage these tasks.
  • Holding on to the future. Another possible reason for their need to save everything is because they may think they will need those items in the future. For example, they may be holding on to a pair of pants they have had for several years in hopes they will fit again one day.

 

Watching a loved one clutter their home with unnecessary items can be difficult, but you can help by finding out the elder’s reason behind their hoarding.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Highland Park, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

 

Source:   https://www.caregiverstress.com/aging-issues/senior-hoarding/10-reasons-seniors-keep-stuff/

Jamie Shapiro
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