A&E: Hoarders and Intervention. Is it conspiracy?

reply to post by wildtimes


Nope I don't think they are invented at all. These people are out there and they could be your neighbour.

An elderly lady that lived in the apartment building next to me a few years ago has a hoarder. She had a small walk way through her entire apt. going from room to room. The rest was piled to the roof with boxes, books, old furniture and a myriad of other stuff. To go visit her has just a very surreal experience. Some of us in the neighbourhood liked to visit the elderly near us so they wouldn't feel isolated or alone and this woman's apartment was just a small garbage dump.

She was also constantly adding to it. She lived in that apartment, as far as I knew, for almost 25 years. She always had a small push cart with her that was full as well.

It was scary. If there had ever been a fire, she would have perished. There would have been no way for the FD to get to her quickly.

It's real,unfortunately.

i can't speak for hoarders... but as for intervention, i know that it has some truth to it. like, not actors or anything like that. a family on intervention was from the city that i live in. i knew one of the family members helping the addicted person, the addicts brother. i spoke with him about the show the couple times i met and chatted with the guy. he was a friend of a friend. he came over to my friends place a couple times when i was there, and had talked about how his brother was going to be on intervention. i finally got around to watching the episode about a month ago. it was crazy to watch the episode play out, knowing that i've met and talked to one of the younger siblings of the guy featured in the episode.

Its called scripted reality. Not really a conspiracy, anywho I've never seen hoarders and have only caught glimpse of intervention so I wouldn't know. The scripted parts could anything from editing or to coaching or feeding lines however most reality shows for the most part just do as presented its cheaper that way for production.

Originally posted by Bertha
I believe that most of the people on these shows just don't have enough storage space and aren't really that bizarre to begin with.

You know, that's funny that you should say that. We currently live in an old farm house with only two closets in the whole house. My room is one of the rooms without a closet. It's not really even big enough with extra space for my bed and a dresser, so I don't have one. Our house is always a bit messy because we have hardly any storage space at all!

I know I've got a bit of a pack rat in me and from looking at the mess of my room one might think I'm a hoarder but it's really not that bad. I just don't have anywhere to put anything!

I have a relative who is an extreme hoarder. I tried many times to help her, but I can't get much done because she wont let me throw anything out without her digging through the bags to retrieve everything and yell at me for throwing out stupid stuff like a single crusty old sock or a scrap of paper from 20yrs ago. You cant evev see the floor. You are slipping and sliding on 30yrs of newspapers and magazines, and a million other things. It is also dangerous and grossly disgusting. People like her have a serious problem and have an emotional bond with every single thing they bring in their home.
Excuse the typos, im on my nook.

Another vote to say hoarding is a true disorder.

It's also different than "normal" clutter problems (where people CAN throw things out if they really sit down with a trashbag and put their mind to it) and I don't usually like TV shows about helping hoarders because the methods they advertise usually make the problem worse. Hoarders can commit suicide if someone suddenly cleans it up "for them." Dealing with a hoarder, successfully helping them reduce their amount of stuff, is a painstaking process, suited only for a very patient but consistent therapist/social worker. But it's not the hoarder's fault. It's been shown their brains have certain physical anomalies. They're not doing it out of stubbornness or a weird mood or abandonment issues or something. They have a brain disorder and need a gentle helping hand. (Packrats this is not you! Your brains are fine you just need to summon some willpower and a trashbag )

virraszto it does sound like your relative is a true hoarder. Yes I know exactly what you are talking about. She needs someone who can come by regularly and gently, tirelessly, encourage her to throw things out. You may not see her often enough or have the kind of extreme patience required for this rather thankless job (well, they eventually will be quite thankful but before that there's lots and lots of arguing, backsliding, etc ) I'm sure she eventually can throw things out but a dedicated social worker or someone like that is what she really needs.

reply to post by wildtimes


Sometimes they are.

You can usually look up the person though.


But yes, many are faked in some of these shows.

I know that hoarding a real illness/disorder. I had an uncle whose house always looked like those on the show. However, what really gripes me is that so many of those "hoarders" on the show aren't just collecting things, or can't throw things out, they are just nasty and lazy! I just want to shake them and say "quit whining, get off your butt and clean your damn house." Especially those that say, "im so embarassed, I don't know how this happened." I think some of those people call that show, say they are hoarders and are really just looking for somebody to come in and clean their nasty houses for free.

reply to post by theRiverGoddess


I applaud your outcry for action, however it's a cry for the wrong kind of action. What you're talking about is the same old knee-jerk reactionary bs that never works. You can't just warehouse people and expect any change... Just look at our ever increasing prison system.

Our society has to become proactive... It's the only way things will ever change. The problem is that no one wants to do anything until it imposes on their OWN life or society in general, and of course the immediate answer to everything is pack it up, store it away.

Out of sight, out of mind... Right? Or how about realistically... Not in my town, neighborhood, building, etc?

So many societal issues could be better solved by catching these people before they become such a huge danger to themselves or others. Same with criminals. Prisons aren't reforming anyone, they're psychologically abusing people to be more screwed up coming out than going in and we definitely don't need that!

I'd like to see the money being spent on prisons and these fabulous cops we've seen so much zealous action out of lately being redirected into education and prevention programs. It's cheaper to prevent a problem than try to clean up the aftermath.

Seems like common sense but this is America, afterall.

As far as hoarding in general is concerned, it is a very real problem and one could postulate many reasons why this happens and what it says about our wonderful system of rampant capitalist consumerism, but no one is going to accept any responsibility so what's the point?

reply to post by SilverStarGazer

As far as hoarding in general is concerned, it is a very real problem and one could postulate many reasons why this happens and what it says about our wonderful system of rampant capitalist consumerism, but no one is going to accept any responsibility so what's the point?

The point is to bring a light of awareness to it. I think most people watch those shows with a sort of morbid curiosity -- a voyeurism like a freak show at a circus. It's natural, and human, for people to be curious about othere who show extreme behaviors.

You are exactly right, it is incumbent upon us to prevent these types of "coping mechanisms", by educating, and paying attention.

On the one hand, people want "freedom" and "privacy"....on the other, they won't take the steps to stop it from happening. The problem with our macro-system is that no one wants to say "yeah, it's my fault." The way things are now, its equivalent to people throwing others off of a bridge over a raging river, and then others are downstream plucking the drowning victims out of the water and sending them on their way. (Tertiary intervention). Some of the people downstream might teach the person they rescued to swim , or even go up onto the bridge and say "Cut that out!" and retrain the perp. (secondary intervention)

But what we really need is for there to be proper education and attention paid to the people who will become those who are willing to go up there and shove. And it's hard to predict, but there are methods.

You are right, it's a thankless job in many ways, but the rewards of having helped steer someone from a trajectory of Future Bridge-Flinger to a path of watchfulness and nurturing that prevents that from happening are beyond financial.

That said, there are companies sponsoring these "freak shows" on a network. It's not on PBS, they are not "paid public service announcements". They are sensationalism that appeals to a part of many people's nature.

I think in some ways they might be helpful to those particular families, and bring awareness of the maladies to others who are ignorant of it happening...but without follow-up education as to "how to prevent your loved one from becoming like this" (beyond saying "her father died, then her mother, then she was abandoned, blah blah) isn't really doing much to solve the bigger problem.

No, don't think hording is "invented".
Not after cleaning out an 8 car pole barn that you could not walk through, several summers in a row, until grandma moved. Then it became cleaning out storage units. Only when she would tell you the truth about how many units she had. It is so awful. Who really needs 4 dust busters, still in the box, just because they were on sale?

Hoarders is absolutely the real thing.....unfortunately.

I have been in many houses that were close to being what is seen on TV.....people I knew whom I never went back to visit because that way of living grosses me out and causes anxiety

My grandparents (who are now dead) were super ridiculously rich. Could buy anything and everything they wanted. Yet, ,y grandmother was a hoarder. But not a dirty hoarder. She was a product of the depression and kept EVERYTHING and reused EVERYTHING. She just would not throw things out! While they built up their business and became wealthy, they appreciated everything that they owned and obtained - too much in fact!

When they died and my parents went into their house to deal with things, the actic (enough room to have a 2nd floor up there) was packed floor to ceiling with crap....bags and bags of stuff she saved. For example: plastic cups from restaurants like 711/McDonalds, etc...she would wash them and stack them and throw them into a bag. Ziploc bags. Trash Bags full of used yet clean ziploc bags. And the list goes on to what she hoarded. Needless crap.

Her office was the same (tiny little trail from the door to her desk and chair....as where the 3 storage units on the property. Just piles and piles and piles of crap.

But her house was immaculate. You would never know the little secret that laid behind walls and above you

My mom started to do this too. It started when I lived at home with her back in the day. And now she has those same storage units and they are filled to capacity of who the hell knows what She collects all kinds of stuff too. And collects stuff in mass quantities.

I am complete opposite. I hardly hold onto anything. I hardly have anything that is really sentimental and will weekly go thru things to throw out/give away. I cannot stand clutter and mess....it actually stresses me out tremendously.

As far as intervention....
anyone who has known an addict knows the show is real. Of course when these people have a camera on them, they will exaggerate things and play it up for the camera.....but the reality is: there are serious addicts destroying their lives and there are families that are suffering because of their addicted family member. Now we all get to watch it on TV.....


yeah, im an avid watcher of both

and the reason for these shows: entertainment but also awareness. just think about all the peopel who dont even know these issues exist...more than you think

I don't know aboout Intervention, but Hoarders is definetly real in my opinion.
My mother is a hoarder, and I inherited it to a lesser degree. One thing I'd like to say though, is that hoarding is NOT a disorder based on SELFISHNESS. People with this disorder have almost always experienced extreme poverty early in life (or were raised by someone who did). At some point in their lives they went hungry.
My father was a therapist. he refered to hoarding as "the Depression Syndrome". He said it originated after the big depression era of the 1930's when people saved absolutely everything because something as simple as a paperclip or an old newspaper could literally save someones life. My mother was born in 1937, in the middle of the depression. She grew up at a time when everything was rationed, and there was never enough of anything to go around. I think many of us will experience something similar in the not too distant future, so lets not judge the hoarders.
AliWV

I'm a bit of a packrat and so is hubby. I think one of the positive things about "hoarders" is that it inspires me to be LESS of a packrat after each show. It's not a cureall, but I have noticed myself getting rid of stuff that I don't need. Just need to look into doing Craigslist on some of the things.

reply to post by Indellkoffer


Yeah, it inspires me, too....
but still. It's making a "public spectacle" of the sad state of some folks. For profit (advertisers).

i can't seem to stop watching hoarders. its disgusting and repulsive, and the very nature of the show requires such a reality to exist. can't watch it if its just a dirty home. most, but not all, of the hoarders seem to be elderly. they are always talking about some deep trauma suffered which can cause this condition. just wondering if they need a cat scan to see what's going on in their brain. cause some of the episodes are whacked. and i still can't stop watching it. i can't imagine its fiction, because as bad as they are, you can really believe there are people like this. but as one of the posters said, its a type of scripted reality show. its got a beginning, struggle in the middle, and a conclusion. smart tv writing. of course i'm a fan of parking wars too, so what do i know.

reply to post by Lawgiver

i can't imagine its fiction, because as bad as they are, you can really believe there are people like this. but as one of the posters said, its a type of scripted reality show.

Or at least heavily edited. I'm not sure if it's as "scripted" as the Jerry Springer show (which I know for a fact is "scripted" -- because one of their legion of producers told me so)....

but yeah, I agree with you. It's mesmerizing, but at the same time, not so much "educational" as an "expose" of the messed-uped-ness of some who have suffered trauma. I feel badly for them, that no one was there to "notice" them slipping BEFORE they got to the point at which they are "worthy" of being on the show.

I read someones post saying that hoarders must have experienced serious 'hunger' in the past, or gone hungry.......I want to semi agree with this.
Only semi, because I know straight up my mother NEVER wanted for anything, EVER in reality....... but she has a 'hunger' inside herself that is a severe mental illness. She CRAVES 'things/food/attention' to an extreme.......her hoarded up house is not from any lack of food, its a mental illness. She is a food addict, she is a kleptomaniac, if her mouth is moving that woman is telling lies.......
She has been on lithium since the mid 60's.........and other drugs.....but she is left alone to self medicate, and she is a BIG drinker on top of her meds.
When I became a mom, this mother of mine was always freaking out & throwing temper tantrums about my giving more attention to my baby than to her......on and on it goes in this way.
I basically NEED to avoid her at all costs.....my PTSD rattles OFF the charts if I am around this woman.......and in response to my avoiding her she piles her home, yard and car up with so MUCH crap....
yuck I am rambling.
Facts are that I spent most my childhood with my Grandparents, & we did TONS of talking about 'what could possibly be wrong with my mother'........and they had many strange tales of her behavior in her childhood, that scream severe mental illness since youth.......
Soooo instead of saying that these hoarding people went hungry, I am flat out saying they need medication and therapy. They might be mentally ill because they went hungry, or some other reason....but it is pure CRAZINESS none the less...


Addiction to booze or drugs is a different situation than hoarding, IMHO....because you can be a die hard drunk and still not be insane, where I think you ARE INSANE when you live in a giant putrid mess.......

Hoarding is a symptom of our society's illls. It's a by-product of materialism and consumption. A fetishization of objects...they create your existence through the meaning projected on them. The meaning is not created solely by the hoarder. The meanings that certain objects are imbued with are wholly manufactured falsehoods as-seen-on-TV. You don't want the damn "slap chop" because it's practical...you want it because of the "you're gonna love my nuts" tag line. You don't want a snuggy because of its practical usage (you already have clothes and blankets and wool socks), you want it because of the imagery of basking in the glow of a warm fire with a cup of cocoa, surrounded by family on a cold winter night.

To really make it clear that this is what triggers these responses, consider non-visual food items. Coke, for example. How the hell are you to get the positive pleasurable taste sensations from the picture of a brown liquid or a red can. No, you want the coke because of the imagery. Even if you've had coke before, let's say some random new drink (we've had a few come out recently over the last decade, such as red bull or some loco something). How did people say, "Hey, I want that" if they've never had it and have no frame of reference?

Easy. The commercials tell you it gives you wings or you're going to have a great time at a party. Then, the next Friday night you are going out and stop at the gas station and see the little bottle and you are instantly put into a mental state of euphoria over parties and girls and fun times and hot people.

The same can be said about the useless cultural layers that overlap as you walk through a walmart.

And the worst part is that hoarders are just examples of the extremes, where clearly the people are not well-adjusted to the system and are obviously major victims...depressed for some reason that is most likely stemming from the same main issue we get the consumerism from.

What I really worry about is the "normal" crowd. The non-hoarders who are still victims of this system and controlled by it. At least with the hoarders, the social disease comes to a fester and is visible in all its horror. With the other bulk of the population, the rot is so entwined with our way of life and out look that the same lesser "hoarding" is so common-place that you can't even identify it.

reply to post by theRiverGoddess

I read someones post saying that hoarders must have experienced serious 'hunger' in the past, or gone hungry.......I want to semi agree with this.
Only semi, because I know straight up my mother NEVER wanted for anything, EVER in reality....... but she has a 'hunger' inside herself that is a severe mental illness. She CRAVES 'things/food/attention' to an extreme.......her hoarded up house is not from any lack of food, its a mental illness. She is a food addict, she is a kleptomaniac, if her mouth is moving that woman is telling lies.......

I agree with you. The idea of the "Depression Syndrome" is also perhaps one of the sources for this disorder. But not the only one, and there are many of us now middle-aged whose parents were raised during the depression. My father's family were unaffected by it that I know of; my mother's was, to the extent that her father was a job-hopper, they were constantly having to "hide" when repossession agents came to their door, or to "move" in the middle of the night.

Neither of them suffered from "hoarding", however, to the extremes of these folks on the show. Yes, my dad (Mom discovered as she was sorting though their storage/workshop area of the basement) was a "pilferer" of tiny bits of machinery or odd tools and fixtures. He was an engineer...those little items were important for him to have in his possession. Why? Who knows. A quirk of his personality. He had SCADS of hardware bits and pieces in his workshop.

Mom, on the other hand, who was well-provided for by my father (who was frugal in many ways, but never withheld from her anything she wanted to do, nor complained when she picked up a new piece of furniture or planned a trip to somewhere,etc), and as an adult never wanted for anything at all, is overly concerned with "running out of money." She won't, but she worries at the same time that she spends.

reply to post by Sphota

And the worst part is that hoarders are just examples of the extremes, where clearly the people are not well-adjusted to the system and are obviously major victims...depressed for some reason that is most likely stemming from the same main issue we get the consumerism from.

What I really worry about is the "normal" crowd. The non-hoarders who are still victims of this system and controlled by it. At least with the hoarders, the social disease comes to a fester and is visible in all its horror. With the other bulk of the population, the rot is so entwined with our way of life and out look that the same lesser "hoarding" is so common-place that you can't even identify it.

Not sure I agree entirely with this theory either. My impression is that people whose acquisition of things or food or animals or clothing or dolls or whatever...have a deep "emptiness", an unfulfilled "need", which manifests itself in their compulsive and irresistable accumulation of "things."

Some, yes, have succumbed to advertising and the consumer-culture. Some have a need for competitiveness, or "keeping up with the Joneses" (hence our Generation -- the last wave of the so-called "Baby Boomers" -- is also known as "Generation Jones". The title also represents the term "jonesing", which came to be when we were kids -- "jonesing" was "craving" something, or suffering for it's absence).

Yet others were subjected to major losses, or major withholding of affection, or hunger, or deprivation of some kind.

I do think hoarding is an addiction, just as drugs, or eating, or religion, or knitting, or ANY activity or thing that distracts one from pain even while it prevents functioning well in terms of "normal" standards of adjustment. It is subjective, however. The people engaging in the hoarding or whatever do not see themselves as "ill", or they might, and not know what to do about it.

In either case, it is interesting and sad. We all have unmet needs.. ALL of us, without exception, and that is, for me, the most fascinating thing about humanity -- to see how others deal with their sense of something missing in their lives.
Recognizing the pain that others have is an important part of compassion. When their behaviors present a danger to themselves or others, it is clear that they need help.