You already know I'm all about organizing and studying human behavior, but you might not know I'm a bit of a fan of reality TV (which can also be seen as studying human behavior). So the show "Hoarders" on A&E would seem to be the perfect storm of fascination for me.
But after watching a few episodes, I've decided that although the show's intentions may be good, its approach is almost doomed to failure in terms of reforming hoarders.
Each show profiles two hoarders whose lives are in immediate turmoil as a result of the hoarding: facing eviction, foreclosure, loss of a relationship or removal of family members. The show provides the services of an organizer or a therapist (hoarder's choice) and a cleaning crew—but they only provide them for two days.
Now, two days with an organizer and a cleaning crew would be fine for people who have clutter as a result of not knowing how to organize or consolidating households or inheriting a bunch of stuff. But while those situations can certainly apply to hoarders, they have an additional component in the form of an anxiety disorder that profoundly distorts the importance of items, making a keep/sell/toss decision that might be simple to most people into an agonizing test for the hoarder.
In addition to their anxiety, hoarders also tend to have an oversized ability to imagine uses for items, and this might be why creative folks can be at a higher risk for hoarding than non-creative folks.
One of the most awesome aspects of creativity is our imaginations: we can envision uses for just about anything. However, when that wonderful imagination isn't paired with the ability to recognize what's important to us and our work, it can lead to mounting piles of potential projects.
And when that generosity of imagination is combined with a genetic tendency toward anxiety and/or depression, you have the makings of a hoarder.
While the A&E show focuses on hoarders who are in dire straits for maximum drama, the greatest likelihood for genuine change comes when someone recognizes their hoarding tendencies early and seeks out counseling for anxiety, depression and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder (which hoarding is believed to be a form of).
Ironically, A&E ran a show this summer called "Obsessed" that followed people with OCD who were given three to six months of therapy for their disorder. Some of them were hoarders, and the slow and steady approach worked very well for them. I really wish A&E would use that format for the hoarders on their eponymous show, and I'm sad to see that they've chosen short-term makeover drama instead of meaningful help.
If you think you might be a hoarder (or you know someone who is), please consider counseling for yourself or them. Also, many medium-to-large cities have task forces on hoarding that can provide resources to keep hoarding situations from reaching the eviction/removal level.
(Note: I wrote a column for Inside Business magazine about hoarding at work, but I wanted to talk more about the human impact here.)
What about you folks? Have you been watching the show? If so, what are your thoughts? Have you had any personal experience with hoarding? Please talk about it in the comments.