Hoarders on A&E

[Tom1071]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 12:36pm

Has anyone else been watching this show? It comes on Monday nights at 10:00 pm est. on A&E.

It has become my new Monday night must-see.

It's not like Clean Sweep where they sort of jokingly poke fun at messy people who need help cleaning their house. This show profiles people who seriously need help with this disorder. These people are on the verge of losing their homes and families if they don't get help.


Updated On: 9/14/09 at 12:36 PM

[danmag]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 1:08pm

Oh.My.God.

Saw this for the first time over the weekend....HOLY SH*T!!!!! That lady who was the food hoarder???? Unbelievable. Didn't she have a whole refridgerator full of expired yogurts? I don't think I can watch this show too often though..it's just so very sad and disturbing.

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 1:54pm

Yes, it's very, very sad and very disturbing. These people have serious mental disorders.

Did you see the 1 episode where the married couple couldn't have the husband in the house? They were living in a motel and the state wouldn't allow him to come home from the hospital?

A lot of it is mental illness, and a huge part of it is control. The wife in the 1 episode that I was referring to, had MAJOR, MAJOR control issues. Her philosophy was, "This is my house, and no one is going to tell me what to do in it." Very, very sad.

Yet, at the same time, these people need to get help. But, they don't think that there's anything wrong. So, that's the problem.
Updated On: 9/14/09 at 01:54 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 2:12pm

I caught some marathon and watched two episodes. By the time they moved on to the third one and they showed a preview with a woman who it looked like had animal remains (decomposed skeletons) in her attic, I really decided that watching too much of this show isn't good for me. The show does not really show much resolution, but sheds the light on a serious problem. I think it is a tad exploitative, but most reality shows are nowadays. It is very sad and those folks are very ill.

[danmag]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 3:57pm

Bettyboy, I saw the same two that you saw and once I saw the previews involving the animal skeletons I knew it was time to turn the channel....beyond disturbing.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 7:49pm

It's nice to know we still have some limits, huh Danmag!!! :)We aren't completely desensitized!

[danmag]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 9:07pm

At least no one was hoarding weaves.....

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 10:05pm

Hi, my name is SweetQintheLights and I am a hoarder.

I haven't watched the show but I've seen an episode of 60 minutes about hoarders and other similar shows. I am not as bad as most of the people, but I am pretty bad. A lot of is has to do with anxiety and the need to control; both of which I have MAJOR problems with and have suffered with my whole life. I still continue to go to therapists and psychiatrists to help me cope.

Part of a hoarders problems are they feel they are attached to everything; they THINK they are attached and THINK that they NEED the stuff. Strange enough, with all the stuff the hoarders have, they WILL notice if something is taken (at least, I have).

One has to go through a series of questions which SHOULD NOT take a lot of thought. "Have I used this in the last year? If not, throw it. Can this be used in the near future? If no, throw. If yes, ask how? Is it necessary? Can you get another one if needed? If yes, throw away. Will my life be different in the immediate future if I no longer have this? If the answer is no, throw it. If yes, ask yourself how is it going to make a difference? Think about it realistically; give a clear and reasonable answer. Most answers, believe it or not, will not be reasonable which then leads to...throw it out.

TRUST ME! MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!!! I've tried to go through all of those questions many times and have cried as I have several times reached for something I felt I "NEEDED." I thought it may be useful in 20 years from now. Yes, after many fights with myself, I ended up throwing it out. It was extremely difficult and still is.

[morosco]

Posted: 9/14/09 at 10:29pm

The show motivated me to clean out my junk closet.

[danmag]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 7:38am

I actually have the opposite problem of hoarding. I throw EVERYTHING away...it annoys the crap out of my husband and kids. But I have to say, I would much rather be a tosser than a hoarder.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 12:05pm

I second that Danmag. I tend to throw things out that people are still using and I usually pester folks to use the last of something up so I can throw it away. No threat of hoarding here, although I may be disordered in the other direction. :)

[danmag]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 12:10pm

Bettyboy, I think there is a reality show out there for us....

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 12:12pm

My son freaks if I throw any of his crap away. I hope he doesn't turn into a hoarder!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 1:56pm

A & E presents DanMag & Bettyboy in "Thrower-Outers". Can you imagine a therapist talking to me, "this is a tube of toothpaste that someone is still using...I know it is close to the end, but there is still some left....can you feel the end of the tube, Bettyboy? See there is still some left. Someone could get several more uses out of this, but you had thrown it in the trash. That was wrong and wasteful, wasn't it?" ahahahahah

[danmag]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 2:23pm

I like it! I prefer the name "Tossers" though...

[justme2]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 2:47pm

Here is what I don't understand, and maybe SweetQ can shed some light for me:

The majority of the stories they show involve the hoarder on the verge of being evicted from their home or losing a spouse. Half of the shows I've seen, the hoarder chooses the stack of napkins from a birthday party over the spouse or house.

I don't understand the logic behind this. Wouldn't it be more traumatic for a hoarder to lose the entire lot of stuff than part with some of it?

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 3:08pm

I'd totally watch "Tossers"!

justme, that is an interesting question.

[Jane2]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 3:17pm

Sweet Q, I'm sorry to hear that you have this disorder, and I hope you can overcome it.

"The majority of the stories they show involve the hoarder on the verge of being evicted from their home or losing a spouse. Half of the shows I've seen, the hoarder chooses the stack of napkins from a birthday party over the spouse or house."

Justme, Sweet Q can correct me, but this is precisely why hoarding is a mental disorder. The hoarders do not have the ability to make the right choice. In their minds, the napkins ARE more important. Logic is lost on them. I believe this is a symptom of many obsessive disorders, such as gambling, drinking, drugs, overeating, etc.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 3:54pm

I am at work so this is going to be kind of short.

Jane, you are definitely on the right track. Justme, at the specific point in time, the napkins are on the persons mind, nothing else. The napkins take over everything else in that time frame, in the persons head. They are obsessing over 1 item and aren't necessarily thinking about all of the possible outcomes/consequences. Nothing else matters but the "napkins." For me, I don't exactly hoard napkins but I guess the persons thought process could be:
"I need the napkins. If I run out of toilet paper, I can use the napkins. If I spill something and don't have a rag, I have the napkins. If I'm left with no blanket, I can use the napkins to cover me." Of course, these seen like ridiculous and nonsensical excuses but for the hoarder, it's very realistic and important...in their state of mind.

Back to work

[justme2]

Posted: 9/15/09 at 9:24pm

Thanks for the information SweetQ! I have a hard time watching this show because I also am a neat freak and by the end of the episodes, I am exhausted just from watching the team of experts try to re-train the hoarders into how and what they collect.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 9/16/09 at 11:53am

My room is a disaster; I have papers from Latin class that I'm never going to use again and containers in a bag from months ago. There may be a rotten apple in one of my book bags, but I'm not sure. However, I'm not sure if I have a disorder. Although, I did get upset the other day when my mom threw out my track list from The Producers. I'm never going to have to use it in the future (unless I was hired at another theatre and they did The Producers but even then they'd probably have a different track from what I used last year). It wasn't that I really wanted it, rather that I needed it because I felt an attachment to it. Even though it was folded up, had random costume notes scribbled on it, it was something that represented a certain time in my life and a cetain fondness I had for that period of time while working on the show.

Watching this show has made realize that it's not healthy to continue this behavior of not throwing things away. It was also quite heartbreaking. The young man whose only option was suicide really got to me and I felt horribly for him especially because his father was being unreasonable due to his alcoholism. The lady with the cats, while disgusting at times, reminded me of Grey Gardens.