What a rough ride it has been!!!
Hacked 3 times in 2 and a half months...Malware sneakily deposited among all of the great information I was trying to give all of you.
Just goes to show you Hoarding is definitely NOT the worst thing people do.
It is great to be back and I am waiting for all of you to drop by and share your experiences and well as your wisdom bourne of hard work to
"Take Back Your Life When Your Things Are Taking Over"
All the Best to Each and Everyone of You
Stay tuned I will be updating this Blog we will create together every week by Monday morning.
Cheers and better Days Ahead....
Elaine Birchall
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
WE HAVE WITHIN EACH OF US THE MAKINGS OF AN ARCHITECT TO DESIGN THE LIFE WE WANT AND THEN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
As the year 2010 transitions into another year of hopes, dreams, plans, challenges and successes for each of us, I want to share something I read recently that replenished clarity for me. I offer it to each of you for the use you can make of it in your life, no matter what the challenges and changes you are facing Hoarding and non-Hoarding alike.
"A single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
Henry Thoreau
This quote reminded me of the courage and detemination those of you who I work with and hear from live every day, no matter where in the world you call and write from in reaching out for the help you need.
It reminded me of the wisdom each of you show in explaing to me how you need me to act on the respect I have for your needs and pace.
It reminded me of witnessing how your successes are sometimes small and incremental, not life remakes in a televised hour. I hope you remember that so that you value the small things you do everyday and don't become invalidated and impatient for lack of those "Hallmark Moments"
I would like to to celebrate some of my 2010 memories with you. I hope they demonstrate that success is not diminished by how many time you fall, it is defined by getting back up.
HATS OFF TO:
"A single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
Henry Thoreau
This quote reminded me of the courage and detemination those of you who I work with and hear from live every day, no matter where in the world you call and write from in reaching out for the help you need.
It reminded me of the wisdom each of you show in explaing to me how you need me to act on the respect I have for your needs and pace.
It reminded me of witnessing how your successes are sometimes small and incremental, not life remakes in a televised hour. I hope you remember that so that you value the small things you do everyday and don't become invalidated and impatient for lack of those "Hallmark Moments"
I would like to to celebrate some of my 2010 memories with you. I hope they demonstrate that success is not diminished by how many time you fall, it is defined by getting back up.
HATS OFF TO:
- those of you who started, became afraid and in response shelved the idea of counseling only to call back months and sometimes a year later to say "OK NOW I"M READY!" and began again
- those of you without the funds to pay for services, made and continue to honour arrangements which give you what you need and cost you what you can manage without hardship for as long as it takes!
- to "seasoned" individuals who have Hoarded for a long time and now are brave enough to face down the "ghosts" in counseling and build the re-claimed life imagined for so long
- to those of you whose lives are made tumultuous with physical and mental illnesses and yet you continue to be willing to get back up, re-group and continue on with the work needed. I am privleged and humbled to be be a part of your plan.
- to those of you who are children of Hoarders who live in fear of slipping like they did or who struggle with limits, boundaries and self esteem because they only discovered there were such things as adults when their relationships were being hurt by the lack
- to those of you who face debilitating illnesses, live with chronic pain and still are determined to ask for the help you need to have the best life possible and still laugh and find joy and things to be grateful for
- to those of you who are the last of your families and carry the yoke of "curator," missing loved ones and the comfort and love exchanged, facing current losses and still asking for help to do what is needed to get and stay on track
- to those of you who are witnesses or recipients of violence, who have been made afraid, who are sickened, ashamed and repulsed by your living environments, who live with chronic anxiety and panic attacks and who still reach out for help, and despite being sickened during the counseling & de-cluttering sessions stay in the game and perservere.
COURAGE IS BEING---(YOUR FEELINGS)---AND DOING IT ANYWAY---- WITH THE HELP YOU TRUST--IN THE WAY YOU NEED TO --AND AT YOUR PACE
I would like to acknowledge all of you and thank you for the privledge of laughing with you, witnessing your stories, being there to support you when you cried, challenging you on those life-robbing distorted beliefs you were taught/ developed in your life, celebrated with you and guided and transitioned you to your un-Hoarded life.
REMEMBER :
First dare to dream it...then imagine it.... then plan it and build it...then live it !
and so I come full circle back to H. Thoreau ..."To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
THE QUESTION I ASK YOU IS:
WHAT WILL YOU LET DOMINATE YOUR LIFE FROM TODAY FORWARD?
I OFFER YOU THAT:
"NO ONE EVER MOVED FORWARD LOOKING BACKWARD...
YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM THE PAST NOT LIVE IN IT".... Elaine Birchall
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Hoarding Help being requested from Vancouver to Moscow and Many Places In Between!
Hello Again Everyone,
The title of this Blog says it all! On a daily basis I hear from many of you all looking for help either for yourself or for loved ones. The biggest question is how to approach the person Hoarding in a way that doesn't cause them to shut down. I aplogize for the delay in responding to your emails and phonecalls.
In reponse to your need Iam preparing 3 videos which for a minimal cost in excess of the cost to produce them you will be able to download them and use them as a guide and reference. I'm creating these tools because I hear from Moscow, India, Hong Kong, Helsinki, London and surrounding areas in the British Isles, Peru, Brazil, Australia, all over the USA and Canada, in particular Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto.
The titles will be: 1. Are you worried about some who Hoards/ Clutters?
2. Are you worried about your own Hoarding/ Cluttering?
3. The Basics on Hoarding, what it means and how to identify the risks.
I'm headed into production mid August so drop by Contact Us on www.hoarding.ca and tell me know what you most want to know. I'll try to include it.
Better yet don't just email and call me get your city govenments to invite me to speak to the Community Partners in your area so that you can start getting the Hoarding informed help you tell me regularly that you are desperate to have access to.
the City of Calgary is doing just that, October 19th until the 22nd I will be presenting:
Hoarding Level 1, Hoarding Level 2, and Motivational Interviewing as well as doing a day of case conferencing on actual Hoarding situations they are trying to help with.
Now that's forward thinking! October 23rd there will be Hoarding informed professional able to respond much more effectively to local Hoparding situations as well as to act as a resource to other Community partners needing to know.
Last week i also had a call from a Winnepeg Free Press reporter about their Hoarding problems one of which recently ended in tragedy with the fire death of a local resident.
I know first hand through working with my counseling and de-clutter clients the sense of despair and being overwhelmed which Hoarding causes. I also know that when their things are reduced to what they love and need and other treasures have been "adopted" by people who will use and appreciate them, they tell me the relief is immeasureable and they feel like the weight of the world is off their shoulders.
Don't kid yourself the "STUFF" doesn't just take up floor space it also takes up the space inside and outside you that is meant for the life you are meant to have.
Reclaim it! You are not alone there are skilled people to help you.
Plan for Christmas infront of your tree, cleared space all around for fun and frolic OR alternately quiet, peaceful with an eggnog and a good book curled up in your favourite chair, feet up, clear space, clean air, cleared furniture surfaces, able to answer the door and welcome your favourite people.
It's all doable!
Cheers,
Elaine Birchall
The title of this Blog says it all! On a daily basis I hear from many of you all looking for help either for yourself or for loved ones. The biggest question is how to approach the person Hoarding in a way that doesn't cause them to shut down. I aplogize for the delay in responding to your emails and phonecalls.
In reponse to your need Iam preparing 3 videos which for a minimal cost in excess of the cost to produce them you will be able to download them and use them as a guide and reference. I'm creating these tools because I hear from Moscow, India, Hong Kong, Helsinki, London and surrounding areas in the British Isles, Peru, Brazil, Australia, all over the USA and Canada, in particular Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto.
The titles will be: 1. Are you worried about some who Hoards/ Clutters?
2. Are you worried about your own Hoarding/ Cluttering?
3. The Basics on Hoarding, what it means and how to identify the risks.
I'm headed into production mid August so drop by Contact Us on www.hoarding.ca and tell me know what you most want to know. I'll try to include it.
Better yet don't just email and call me get your city govenments to invite me to speak to the Community Partners in your area so that you can start getting the Hoarding informed help you tell me regularly that you are desperate to have access to.
the City of Calgary is doing just that, October 19th until the 22nd I will be presenting:
Hoarding Level 1, Hoarding Level 2, and Motivational Interviewing as well as doing a day of case conferencing on actual Hoarding situations they are trying to help with.
Now that's forward thinking! October 23rd there will be Hoarding informed professional able to respond much more effectively to local Hoparding situations as well as to act as a resource to other Community partners needing to know.
Last week i also had a call from a Winnepeg Free Press reporter about their Hoarding problems one of which recently ended in tragedy with the fire death of a local resident.
I know first hand through working with my counseling and de-clutter clients the sense of despair and being overwhelmed which Hoarding causes. I also know that when their things are reduced to what they love and need and other treasures have been "adopted" by people who will use and appreciate them, they tell me the relief is immeasureable and they feel like the weight of the world is off their shoulders.
Don't kid yourself the "STUFF" doesn't just take up floor space it also takes up the space inside and outside you that is meant for the life you are meant to have.
Reclaim it! You are not alone there are skilled people to help you.
Plan for Christmas infront of your tree, cleared space all around for fun and frolic OR alternately quiet, peaceful with an eggnog and a good book curled up in your favourite chair, feet up, clear space, clean air, cleared furniture surfaces, able to answer the door and welcome your favourite people.
It's all doable!
Cheers,
Elaine Birchall
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