Hoarders

I am intrigued by the TV show "Hoarders".  Forget all those other so-called 'reality' shows with the housewives and big brothers and what-not.  This sh*t is for real!!

What I find so interesting about this show and the phenomena of hoarding is how something in their brain is either mis-firing or their ability to recognize what is normal has become broken.  Its sort of like how people with body dysmorphia disorder see themselves as fat while others see them as dangerously thin.  Hoarding is definitely a mental disorder.

Many of the hoarders don't believe they really have a problem despite the fact that their homes have become unlivable by most people's standards due to the stuff packed to the rafters and the filth.  Others seem to recognize their situation but have become powerless to correct it.  The concept of sorting through a pile of stuff on the counter is paralyzing to them.

I usually feel sorry for these folks because the therapists who try to help them often find a traumatic event in their past that seems to have been the start of the hoarding.  Many are not able to get past either the traumatic event or the resulting hoarding so some of them lose their homes, spouses, and children.  Its sad, but somehow also very interesting to me.