Lebanon, NJ Dumpster Rental

Silver Linings: Dwellings strewn with garbage and waste overshadow the mental health crisis

Lora Gerard is program director for the Northern New England Geriatric Education Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. "We don't really understand how widespread it is. We don't know about it until it becomes a crisis," Gerard says.Last July, a 60-year-old man died because firefighters were unable to reach him through burning clutter and trash and no clear pathway in or out of his Hazelton Court home in Manchester. In February 2014, a 72-year-old woman perished when firefighters couldn't extract her from her house on Bannon Street, where doors and windows were blocked by debris and household objects. "There's usually only one way in and out," Lennon says, "and it's a very narrow pathway." Hoarding disorder is linked to anxiety and trauma, including conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and is slightly more common among women, research states. Dementia can bring on the illness in someone who never experienced it at a younger age, and can turn cluttering into hoarding, mental health experts say."Some people have collections, and that's perfectly normal behavior. Or if you have clutter that's not affecting you or anyone around you, it's no big deal," Gerard says. "But when it starts to interfere with life in a significant way, and you can't use rooms as intended, there's only one seating area in your whole home, and you can't sleep in your bed or you've become socially isolated because you're afraid to have people over," hoarding has become a serious problem.Hoarding increases the risk of falling, strains relationships with family and friends, and leads to isolation - resulting in more anxiety and depression, she adds.  a href="http://www.newhampshire.com/storyimage/UL/20180715/NEWS2001/180719644/H3/0/H3-180719644.jpg?q=60" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="A Scene Care crew member dressed... (lver Linings: Dwellings strewn with garbage and waste overshadow the mental health crisis)