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Did anyone catch this show the other night? I did and although I was horrified, I could NOT turn away. I did have to cover my eyes for a lot of the rotting food portion, it was WAY too gross.
I lived underneath a hoarder in an apt once. No one had any idea until the landlord had to go in for an emergency. The tenant was evicted and her family spent DAYS tossing trash and who knows what else out of the place. If you looked at this woman, you would have had no clue.
I saw it and it WAS riveting in a horrifying kind of way. I've never known a hoarder personally but know of them. The last few months I have been staying with a friend until I can move into my own house. And with her I see a much milder form of hoarding, but hoarding nonetheless. She buys and buys and hates to part with anything. The house is wall to wall furniture and stacks of stuff everywhere. She has at least 25 sets of placemats alone, but doesn't entertain.
Anyway, the subject fascinates me and I wil watch the program again.
I saw it and it WAS riveting in a horrifying kind of way. I've never known a hoarder personally but know of them. The last few months I have been staying with a friend until I can move into my own house. And with her I see a much milder form of hoarding, but hoarding nonetheless. She buys and buys and hates to part with anything. The house is wall to wall furniture and stacks of stuff everywhere. She has at least 25 sets of placemats alone, but doesn't entertain.
Anyway, the subject fascinates me and I wil watch the program again.
I know! If you would have seen me watching it you would have thought I was watching a scary movie! I felt compelled to get up and clean. I have it programmed on my DVR for next week. I cannot miss it!
Uh oh. This can't be good. They're obsessed with keeping everything and we're obsessed with watching them keep everything! Be sure you erase the program after you watch it. You don't want to be keeping it. Tee hee!
Did you guys watch Obsessed at all? That show featured a few hoarders, but in the context of them getting behavioral therapy. This show seemed to be more about quick fixes and "look at the freaks!" The woman with the food was seriously mentally ill, and she needed more help than two days with a professional organizer. It's fascinating to watch, but I felt bad for watching it, if you know what I mean.
Last edited by fleetiebelle; 08-19-2009 at 03:07 PM..
Yes, I saw Obsessed too. And of course I know that this is a serious behavioral issue that needs therapy. Like with many behavioral issues, many times the hoarders don't want, can't accept or can't afford the help needed to overcome the behavior. It's sad but oddly compelling to watch. I'm sure I will tire of it after a few episodes. Let's just call it a guilty pleasure.
Yes I watched Hoarders and have seen Obsessed also. I'll watch Hoarders again but prefer the approach in Obsessed so far.
I can relate to some of it because I have trouble getting rid of stuff and keeping things tidy. Mine is more of a paper and "stuff" thing and isn't nearly as extreme as those people, though. Plus, I don't have the buying problem at all - I hate to shop! But it is interesting to see how far some people go, what it takes to help them, and how little it might take for someone to slip from "regular clutter" to "hoarder."
Of course, I can't think of hoarders without thinking of those iconic hoarders, the Collier brothers. It's sad to see people who can function otherwise but are socially crippled by this shameful hidden disorder. Like the other poster who said no one knew the neighbor was a hoarder - and to look at her you'd never know - I think that's pretty typical of these folks.
I watched it before dinner and lost my appetite! That woman is unquestionably sick in the head. The place was filthy. I felt bad for the one guy, who was helping move the stuff out, who almost upchucked in the house.
I don't know how the psychologists who specialize in this kind of disorder can be so patient. I speaking for myself can't understand what these people are thinking and feeling. I could NOT live with someone who had this.
Otherwise, if you're a person trying to lose weight, this is a perfect show to keep you from eating, let me assure you. OMG. So many closeups of rotting food.
I watched it before dinner and lost my appetite! That woman is unquestionably sick in the head. The place was filthy. I felt bad for the one guy, who was helping move the stuff out, who almost upchucked in the house.
I don't know how the psychologists who specialize in this kind of disorder can be so patient. I speaking for myself can't understand what these people are thinking and feeling. I could NOT live with someone who had this.
Otherwise, if you're a person trying to lose weight, this is a perfect show to keep you from eating, let me assure you. OMG. So many closeups of rotting food.
Now there's an idea for a new dieting show. Every night before dinner, make them watch closeups of rotting food. Not eating dinner for a week guarantee's automatic weight loss.
When does this show come on and what station? I want to watch it.
I lived next to a hoarder several years ago. We live next to a duplex, and she lived in the side furthest from us. There's no way anyone ever suspected she was a hoarder. For some reason, a key had been given to her neighbor on the opposite side, I guess just in case something happened to the hoarder. Well, one night the hoarder went into a diabetic coma on the phone, and my neighbor had the only key to get in and get her out of there. The hoarder went to the hospital, and a few days later my neighbor told me what she had seen in the house. Because it was so unbelievable, she opened the front door to show me (I didn't go in and never would have). Trash was literally piled up to at least my height if not taller. There was a pathway from the door to the kitchen where she could walk, but everything else was covered in trash. The smell that came out was so horrific it actually gave me a stomachache. I had never experienced anything like that before. My neighbor at one point went inside and said she couldn't even find the kitchen counter. The whole upstairs was just as bad if not worse than the downstairs. The hoarder basically lived under the mentality that if she paid for it she couldn't bear to throw it away, and that includes all forms of trash. Even food wrappers she couldn't make herself throw away. Her car was just as bad as her house, full of trash, food, and mouse droppings.
A few months before we found this out, everyone in the neighborhood, including us, started complaining of mice seemingly coming out of nowhere into our homes. We all were getting them. It wasn't till later we realized where the came from. Also for years while she lived there after a big rain then heat afterward we would always smell a very strong trash smell but never knew where it came from. It was nasty. Anyway, while she was in the hospital the city came and condemned her home. It has since been gutted and renovated. The smells are gone and so are the mice.
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