This column originally ran in 2017.<\/p>\n
Dear Annie: A close friend, \u201cJenna,\u201d has a mental illness: She hoards. Her house would be condemned if the health administration were to go there.<\/p>\n
I can start tracing this behavior back to when she first became a mother and discovered that raising children requires more than just buying them new clothes and getting pictures taken. She worked and had trouble juggling everything. Fortunately, her mother lived next door and helped out a lot \u2014 did her laundry and fixed meals for the kids. But then her mother died, and Jenna\u2019s personality began to change even more. She could not keep up with the daily needs of her family. Then her husband died, only 10 months after her mother.<\/p>\n
Long story short, her life has continued spiraling downward. Her house is a disaster, with holes in the walls that let the outside air in, mice, snakes and cat urine and feces everywhere because the litter box never gets changed.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s met a man who lives out of state. He will never be invited to her home, yet she\u2019s talking of marrying him and moving to his location. Her kids are well-adjusted to their hometown. The older one will be a senior in high school next year, and the younger one will be a sophomore. These kids don\u2019t want to move, but with her illness, she can only think of herself and getting a new start. She\u2019s not being totally honest with her new mate. Others close to her need to know how to help her and her kids.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Stressed out in Middle America<\/p>\n
Dear Stressed out: Start with Jenna. Express your concerns about her mental health, and encourage her to seek professional counseling. Then expand to her circle of family and close friends. Make sure everyone is aware of the problem. If she\u2019s been preventing people from coming into the house, it\u2019s possible they have no idea how severe the situation is.<\/p>\n