Grief has turned my dad into a hoarder

father is showing signs that it is affecting his mental state.

A trauma like bereavement can trigger depression and, sometimes in older people, even the first symptoms of dementia.

It may be that his hoarding is a sign of real mental distress as well as a possible hazard to his health.

Doctors do recognise this as a disorder, particularly if the amount of clutter interferes with everyday living and is having a negative affect on the person’s quality of life.

Bottom line, it is not what you want for your father. So your first step should be to get him seen by his GP. In this case, I’d suggest that you try to insist on a home visit not only because of your father’s age and frailty, but also because you really need the doctor to see the state of the house and assess the scale of the problem.

His GP can then suggest the next step, which may be an assessment of his mental wellbeing, or to refer him to the local community mental health team, who might have a therapist familiar with issues such as hoarding and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

If you have difficulties accessing therapy, the charity OCD-UK may be able to help.

You can hardly get in his house for boxes of stuff, furniture, newspapers, mags, even bits of old carpet