Contributed by RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO –
Sentimental or an underlying mental illness?
I applaud the untiring efforts of the 10 volunteers, the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) after the Potong Pasir Member of Parliament, Mr Sitoh initiated the sprucing up of the elderly woman’s Toa Payoh flat as it is a good way to keep her in a safe and healthy environment as reported in “5 cleaners take 5 days to clear to clear 10.5 tonnes of filth” (The New Paper, Feb 9,2015 ).
We must be aware that hoarding places the individual at risk for social, psychological and physical outcomes which will intimately lead to a decline in quality of life. With more than 70 percent of our population living in HDB flats, it is so important to ensure that hoarders do not disrupt the lives of those living around them.
What exactly defines hoarding?
Generally hoarders will begin to become distressed at the thought of having to part with items which have sentimental value.
The hoarding syndrome which is a form of mental illness needs to be identified quickly as it could have further underlying mental health issues like dementia that go undetected – sometimes for years. Unfortunately, people with hoarding disorder do not see it as a problem – making treatment a real challenge. But hoarding is indeed treatable.
Who can do what?
With a fast ageing population coming on-stream, all of us – as neighbours, religious leaders and community leaders can help to notify the authorities when they observe hoarders in the estates. Being active citizens, we must all do our part to walk alongside our seniors who could be having psychological problems and are not aware of it – bearing in mind that these very citizens had in their early years contributed to Singapore economic growth.
On the part of the HDB, I hope that they and the respective MPs can keep a close watch on the older estates in Singapore as there could be citizens who are old, isolated and uncared for, living there.
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