By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
AS PETER Donnelly-Willis’s home became consumed by all sorts of ‘junk’ he didn’t want, he knew he had an issue with hoarding.
But the light really came on when he realised why he had been doing it.
“I’m getting control of my life again,” Mr Donnelly-Willis said.
Mr Donnelly-Willis’s revelation happened during a Buried in Treasures 20-week course at EACH in Narre Warren.
The group workshop helps people to de-clutter and manage their hoarding disorder – a behaviour formally recognised as a mental illness.
There were a heap of issues hidden beneath the piles of unwanted items. The unresolved grief after his mother’s death, being abused and hungry as a child had all been pushed down in his memory, he said.
“When Mum died I didn’t feel as strong. I was buying things like a protective wall.
“I realised they were all types of things that I didn’t even like, but what Mum liked.”
The disorder proved isolating for Mr Donnelly-Willis over the next 18 years.
He was tripping over things on the floor, collecting shirts that weren’t his size, keeping hundreds of beer bottles, piles of books he wouldn’t read and authors he wouldn’t care about.
His home was so congested he’d stand on a stool to reach a kitchen cupboard over the mounting stuff.
He started collecting clean-up notices from his local council and stopped inviting guests to his cluttered home out of shame.
What made matters worse for Mr Donnelly-Willis was the temptation of working in an opp shop. He’d often save items from being thrown out and take them home.
Thanks to the EACH group, Mr Donnelly-Willis proudly said he can walk into a shop without buying things. He’s challenged his acquisition impulse, he said.
The group’s co-ordinator Kim Gear said hoarders could be “stigmatised” for their behaviour but the group aimed to look at what lies beneath.
“These behaviours are usually preceded by trauma, sometimes from a significant time ago.”
Creative people often fall prey, attracted to the “potential” of collecting things, she said. Many felt anxious walking into a shop without buying something.
The group participants find mutual support with others. They are challenged to go in a shop armed with a cheat-sheet and be conscious of their anxiety levels.
When tempted to buy an item, they run their eye over a check-list of questions such as ‘Do I already have one’ and ‘Can I afford to buy it?’.
For Mr Donnelly-Willis, the result has been life-changing.
“I’m nearly ready to get visitors – there’s a bit of space opening up inside.
“I’m starting to fill up my recycle bins.”
The course is open to residents in Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia.
The next group starts on Thursday 14 July at 1-3pm at EACH, 5/66 Victor Crescent, Narre Warren. Details from 8781 9500.
