Judi - This is probably the saddest one I've seen - Once a bright, successful woman now trapped in feces and insects to the point of almost losing her life.
Gail- that her son would find fighting in Irag LESS scary than facing this with his Mom, is enlightening.
What did all of you think of tonight's show?
I don't know. I kind of have a little less compassion for the hoarder who just throws trash on the ground (as opposed to the collection of items, which may be splitting hairs). The fact that the womans son wouldn't say goodbye before he left was very sad. I was glad to see that Judi was getting the care she needed, because she obviously couldn't care for herself.
I hope they do well with the help they have been given.
The shows this season have featured people who seem significantly more depressed and helpless. Collecting things seems like only part of the problem; these people just generate garbage and then squat in it. They don't seem to be fighting to keep their stuff; they're just watching as other people throw things out. The first season episodes showed a lot more footage of therapists trying to help the hoarder learn to sort and prioritize (and failing, for the most part).
Is there such a thing as morbid fear of clutter? I watch these shows and fear that I'm LIKE the hoarders (even though my friends assure me that I'm the cleanest, most organized person they know) and rush to sort and purge.
You know, I don't know if there's a technically a name for that, but I have done the rush purge and have been regretful of it afterward. So, I guess as with everything else in life, there has to be a balance.
I think a few good questions to ask yourself when needing to get something out of the house would be:
1) Can I repurpose this for another task?
2) Have I moved this from place to place without having used it in years?
3) Would it be of more use to a charity?
4) Will I use it in the near future?
5) How much money did I spend on it, and if I should have to replace it in the future, will I end up spending a considerable amount MORE????
I'm not liking this season quite as much because the people are more mentally ill and there's less to learn for the rest of us. I thought they would have been better off not doing Judi and just letting her house be bulldozed and give the help to someone else. The only real benefit to her was finding a few buried treasures and maybe clearing a bit of money from the sale. I think she would have been better off never going near the site again and just moving to Spokane.
I am the child of a hoarder much like Judi and Gail. My mother is a marvelous person, a singer, piano player, and a kind-hearted person who has a mental illness. I suppose the greatest benefit to the "rest of you" is to learn compassion and empathy. Mental illness is like any other illness. It is treatable with no stigma attached. These episodes, although difficult to watch because they hit so close to home, left me, first of all, with a sense that I am not alone. Others suffer from the same problem. As a child, I felt so alone with my embarrassment and shame. Now, I see that this is a much wider-spread problem than I ever imagined. I do live with worry that my mother will end up dead in her own trash, and that I will become a hoarder myself, but I keep pushing through to hope and recovery.
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