A Sidmouth woman says she is “amazed” at how people's understanding of hoarding has progressed ahead of National Hoarding Awareness Week.

National Hoarding Awareness Week and Mental Health Awareness Week will both be marked between May 13 and 19.

National Hoarding Awareness Week was started 10 years ago in 2014 by the Chief Fire Officers Association to highlight the increased fire risks associated with hoarding.

Local not-for-profit Hoarding Disorders UK is also celebrating a decade since it was founded. It raises awareness, facilitates support groups, delivers training and works to help people in their homes.

Reflecting on the past ten years, Jo Cooke, 60, director of Hoarding Disorders UK, said: “I'm amazed at how things have progressed in terms of people wanting to understand it.

“Hoarding is not a lifestyle choice; it is a mental health disorder, not a moral failing.”

“The more we can get the message out there, the more we can empathise and understand, we're still very much dispelling the stigma around hoarding.”

Hoarding is recognised by the NHS as a mental health disorder where someone acquires an excessive number of items, stores them in a chaotic way and experiences distress in getting rid of items.

The amount of clutter can interfere with everyday living, for example, being unable to use their kitchen or bathroom.

Many people who hoard have little awareness of how it's affecting their life or family and friends.

Ms Cooke is the author of the book ‘Understanding Hoarding’, and is about to publish her second book, ‘Overcoming Chronic Disorganisation’.

Ms Cooke wrote the new book based on her experience over the past 10 years working in people's homes recognising the other factors in people’s lives that can lead to chronic disorganisation: “I wrote the book because I think we can all be affected by chronic disorganisation.

“Our homes can be impacted by too much stuff, because we've just got too much going on in our heads, and that manifests itself physically.

“I wanted people to understand the meaning in the mess.

Jo saw an important difference between hoarding behaviours and chronic disorganisation: “I realised that they don’t have the emotional attachment for someone with hoarding behaviour to say, I want to keep keep, keep, where someone's chronically disorganised will say, actually, I'm happy to let that go.

“It’s about explaining to people that all our brains are wired differently. Some people can be very practical and some people aren’t.

“We can all be affected by situations which impact not only on our mental environment, but our physical environment as well.

“There's lots of lots in the book, strategies and hints and tips and it's about being kind to ourselves.

“It’s asking ourselves, if we've got one thing that we can do today, what is it going to be?”

‘Overcoming Chronic Disorganisation’ will be published on 20th June and the book will be launched on Friday 21st June at Kennaway House, Sidmouth, at 2pm.

If you or someone you know might be affected by hoarding disorder, you can find more information from the NHS or the mental health charity Mind.