Dealing with a hoarder?

[pulisa]

Does she actually think that she has a problem or does she think that it's you who has the problem and that you should just turn a blind eye and let her carry on? Is she aware of the distress her behaviour causes you?

[Fishmanpa]

I am seeing a councellor to help me deal with my situation and it has been suggested that she gets professional help, but i can't see a way to get her to agree to it. Any ideas? Thanks again.

As I said, getting help is important. I don't have any suggestions for persuading your partner to seek help. It comes down to whether you can deal and live with it. We were having marital issues in general but for me, the hoarding was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. After my ex stopped going to the counselor, I continued to go. I had to clean up the house. We had two young children and it just wasn't healthy. It was advised that I give her ample notice that I would be doing so. So I let her know I would be cleaning up the back yard and discarding some old newspapers and magazines in the basement. I chose a day when she would be out of the house with the kids visiting her parents. The yard had old weather worn and broken toys and furniture. I cleaned everything up and placed it on the curb for trash pickup. When she came home, she totally lost it and started screaming she needed these things and began throwing them into the minivan saying she would take them to her parents house to save! The kids were watching this and crying :( Neighbors came out to see what the commotion was about. Its still a painful memory. I spoke about the episode to my counselor and as much as it was her job to try to keep us together, she recommended I leave, at least for a little while. It was soon afterwards that I left and it became apparent that it would be permanent soon afterwards.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this and I personally know how painful it can be.

Positive thoughts