#54 Compulsive acquiring and hoarding: how to stop with Dr Jan Eppingstall

"I know that people feel sick with regret when they go out on a binge and come back, they've had that almost dissociative episode where they rushed off to the shops and bought all this stuff and come home and see it all together and have this overwhelming feeling of regret."

"Or when all the Amazon boxes arrive and you're just like, 'Oh, what have I done?'"

For the full show notes and transcript for this episode, visit the website at Overcome Compulsive Hoarding / http://www.overcomecompulsivehoarding.co.uk/ Questions to ask when dehoarding: https://www.overcomecompulsivehoarding.co.uk/podquestions Twitter: @ThatHoarder TikTok: @thathoarderoch https://www.tiktok.com/@thathoarderoch Facebook: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder / https://www.facebook.com/Overcome-Compulsive-Hoarding-with-That-Hoarder-104370761703319 Pinterest: That Hoarder / https://www.pinterest.com/ThatHoarder YouTube: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSxMqB_fGckbGOQZpkl6l9g Reddit: Overcome Compulsive Hoarding with That Hoarder / https://www.reddit.com/r/overcomehoarding/ Help out: Support this project / http://www.overcomecompulsivehoarding.co.uk/support-this-project/

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My favorite podcast (really)

This is helpful for clutterbugs. It's a surprisingly easy listen for such a heavy topic.
For context, I have ADD (a diagnosis where actual doctors tell you that maintaining an uncluttered home is not in you future). I always had a clutter/disorganization problem, and when developed chronic fatigue syndrome, it started getting out of control.
It is discouragingly hard to find useable advice from real success stories, so I am happy to have found this gem.
The host (who, understandably, chooses to remain anonymous) is dehoarding her severely hoarded home. Throughout the podcast, you see her grow, and it is beautiful. She often has a co-host, Dr. Jan, who is a hoarding specialist. Dr. Jan also understands the problem as someone who has struggled with it.
She discusses strategies and ideas that she is trying now or has tried in the past. She looks at them as behavioral "experiments" and discusses the resulting pros and cons. This "experimental" attitude has been the most successful for me as well. People with clutter, including myself, often get mentally mired. It is as if our intelligence and creativity gets stuck, leaving us unable to solve problems and make decisions. Listening to someone who is using the right kind of logic and attitude helps grease those gears. It is nice to hear from someone who really understands the problem and what goes on in the head of a person with a clutter problem.
My favorites advice from this podcast: 1) Do something wrong. If there is something that you think would help you get to your goal, but you haven't done it because it breaks one of your personal rules or feels wrong, do it. See what happens. 2) Massaging the Vegas nerve when you feel the beginning of overwhelm, or when you feel tension in your neck and shoulders (YouTube it). 3) Don't do things perfectly. Focus on "better" not "perfect."