# 3rd degree squallers



## Skyking (Aug 19, 2013)

3rd degree squallers
does anyone have experience or information they can share links to really good sources for this ...? We have a family member affected  and are trying to handle this in a positive way that will insure some degree of success. We all want to go in and help and what we're hearing that this isn't really the way to handle it .any help is appreciated.
We're all staying in prayer for guidance and help


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## 04ctd (Aug 20, 2013)

no, but to save everyone asking, here is the defintion.

the forum at the link looks like a good place to start.

pray. prayer changes things.



*Third degree squalor*

_ At this stage, you have all the above, plus you have rotting food and animal faeces and/or urine in the house, and this is the rule not the exception. You cannot cope with the growing mess. Essential household repairs may not be done, because you are too afraid to let a tradesperson see your house. Just the thought of someone seeing your mess causes you great stress._

http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/squalor/measuring.shtml

Measuring squalor
_
Measurement tools have been developed to quantify the scale of a clutter and hoarding problem.. The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization has developed a Clutter Hoarding Scale, which measures four dimensions (Structure & Zoning Issues, Pets & Rodents, Household Functions, and Sanitation & Cleanliness) on a scale of 1 to 5.

The material available online to go with the <cite>Treatments That Work: Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring workbook</cite> include material for a Clutter Image Rating—you look at nine pictures of a progressively cluttered room and pick the best match for your situation. 

The "Degrees of Squalor" scale below was described by Kimmy in the Living in third degree squalor...where do I start? (Internet Archive copy) thread that sowed the seed for Squalor Survivors. This scale is purportedly used by psychologists, but I have not been able to find a match in any textbooks or academic papers. I am keeping it online to give context to the name and beginnings of this website_.


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## Skyking (Aug 20, 2013)

*First degree squalor*
You are getting behind in tasks that you would normally manage, like laundry and dishes. You are not the tidy person you once were. Little piles are starting to emerge and your disorganization is starting to affect your life and inconvenience you. Things are just starting to get out of hand and become unmanageable. A sign of first degree squalor could be that you might be embarrassed for other people to see your mess...but you would still let them in the house.
*Second degree squalor*
Now things are really starting to get out of hand. Signs that you have reached second degree would include losing the use of normal household items like your bed, table, television or telephone, because the piles have expanded to cover the items up. You start to develop new methods of moving around your house, as normal movement is impeded by your piles of stuff. You might start making excuses to discourage people from entering your house.
*Third degree squalor*
At this stage, you have all the above, plus you have rotting food and animal faeces and/or urine in the house, and this is the rule not the exception. You cannot cope with the growing mess. Essential household repairs may not be done, because you are too afraid to let a tradesperson see your house. Just the thought of someone seeing your mess causes you great stress.
*Fourth degree squalor*
At fourth degree squalor, you have all of the above, plus you have human faeces and/or urine in your house that is not in the toilet. Finally...

Whatever stage of squalor you are at, know two things:

    You are not the only person to have reached this degree of squalor. Other people have been where you are...and come back.
    You deserve better!


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## Skyking (Aug 20, 2013)

Squalor is...

    Always being late to everything because I can't find clean socks or underwear, can't find the top that I want to wear with a particular pair of pants, can't find my shoes, or my keys, etc.... (DirtyDishes)
    Anger. (zombie)
    A bare-bones confession that opens up great dialog among down-to-earth (i.e, REAL) people from all walks of life. (Little Ninja)
    Boring (Lunchlady)
    CHAOS. (Cincyrecycler)
    Cold and unwelcoming (Lunchlady)
    Cringing when there's a knock at the door. (Pigpen)
    Depression made visible. (Script)
    Despair. (Fivecat)
    Destruction of things that you used to put so much value in. (zombie)
    Dirty, perishable, wet or smelly--something to do with actual decay or built-up hard-to-remove sludge. (Celery)
    Dreading opening the front door because it doesn't feel like home. It isn't a place where you relax. It's where you hide. (TooMuchStuph)
    Embarrassment. (zombie)
    Everyday the Fear I will go back to squalor. (missmaggieelizabeth)
    Far too many objects taking the place of memories. (ramatama)
    Fear. (zombie)
    The fear I am going crazy because now I can NOT quit cleaning my house. I have become obscessed by the squalor I was in, into becoming a clean freak. There seems to be no happy medium for me. (missmaggieelizabeth)
    The fear of the knowledge I am screwed up and do not know how to fix it and become normal again (missmaggieelizabeth)
    Filling my brain with pesky little stuff so I don't have to deal with things that are important. (lunchlady)
    Frenzied and hostile - the opposites of calm and peaceful. (TooMuchStuph)
    Giving me lots of excuses. (Lunchlady)
    Going to extreme lengths to make sure no one gets the bright idea to pay you a surprise visit.(MessyCowgirl)
        Going to extreme lengths to make a person think you're not home when they decide to pay you a surprise visit anyway! (MessyCowgirl)
    Having great balance because you've learned to dance over heaps of stuff. (MessyCowgirl)
    Imprisonment. (zombie)
    A "keep away" sign. It tells the world I'm afraid or unworthy, so please don't trespass. (Celery)
    Knowing you can always stash the dirty dishes in the oven or a box if you are expecting company because washing every dish you own would take 4 hours. (MessyCowgirl)
        Finding the box of dishes a year later and forgetting you ever owned them! (MessyCowgirl)
    Knowing that water becomes stagnant when it sits. (MessyCowgirl)
    Looking around & being horrified that everything is cluttered or needs cleaning or some sort of attention—and it's gonna be me. (catcat)
    Looking at "The pile," knowing it's destroying your life, and doing nothing but shifting it around. (Thomas)
    Loud. The visual noise of it can be deafening. (TooMuchStuph)
    Not being at home in your home. (zombie)
    Not enough space for the things we feel we must keep. (ramatama)
    Not knowing how much is enough . (ramatama)
    Not home. It's a house filled with stuff and grime. (TooMuchStuph)
    Only one facet of my extraordinary personality! (Little Ninja)
    OVERWHELMING. (Cincyrecycler)
    Pain and fear. (Fivecat)
    The pain I caused my friends and family denying them access to me as a person by keeping them out of my house. I can never go back and undo that. (missmaggieelizabeth)
    The pain I have now because I cannot visit my Mom because of her squalor. (missmaggieelizabeth)
    The pain of denying myself children because I was afraid I would do to them what my parents did to me being raised in squalor. (missmaggieelizabeth)
    Picking a few items out of the pile labeled Mount Washme so you can have clean clothes for at least the next day.(MessyCowgirl)
        Picking a few items out of the laundry pile and sniffing to see if it's wearable. (MessyCowgirl)
    Pushing away and killing creativity. (Lunchlady)
    The result of countless small acts of self-neglect. (Margaret)
    Scorned by a society insecure and superficial enough to judge us by it (Little Ninja)
    Self-abuse. (zombie)
    Self-hatred. (zombie)
    Sink pudding. (atropa)
    Socially incorrect. (rocketshe)
    Something we have to take care of first, before we can tackle something else—even more overwhelming—that we're afraid of. (Pigpen)
    A state of impoverishment. (Troubledmom)
    A subjective pejorative judgment by another person who is only willing in certain cases where it is "deserved" to look beyond the surface. (Vildachaya)
    Suffocating under a stack of something. (Inga Rea)
    A "temporary" setback and aspect of our lives that brought us all together on common ground (Little Ninja)
    The term that I had never thought to apply to myself. When I found SS I did, and it changed me. (atropa)
    Thinking in terms of just-in-cases that never happen. (ramatama)
    Thinking it is up to you to provide that very one thing to help someone out. (ramatama)
    Too many postponed decisions. (ramatama)
    A trap . (Cincyrecycler)
    Unnecessary mess. (Mr. Fivecat)
    A visual expression of pain. (BDG)
    A visual representation of emotional distress and a symptom of deeper problems (Little Ninja)
    Walking down the street catching glimpses into other people's windows and wishing you had a home like theirs. (Lorelei)
    Wasting life. (zombie)

http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/squalor/


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