"Help! I'm a Hoarder" Show on TLC

My blogger friend Dr. Amie Ragan at Psychology of Clutter just posted about a show on TLC called "Help! I'm a Hoarder." It will air on Wednesday, September 19th, at 8:00 and 11:00PM Eastern.  You can view it in its entirety at the Helping Hoarders website.  I watched it and thought they did a good job of discussing the psychological and cognitive issues behind the problem. 

One thing that stood out to me was when "Melodie," a hoarder who was featured on the show, said it's like not having the ability to get the signal that says you're full and you want to keep eating, only it's stuff that you want to keep collecting.  This woman was facing eviction for violating fire codes and she could barely walk through her apartment.  Another thing that stuck out to me was her repeated use of the phrase "perfectly good." We talk about this all the time-- that the item may be perfectly good, but it doesn't mean it's perfectly good for you to own it and keep it.

I thought I would share my resources again here for those with hoarding or chronic disorganization issues:

• www.nsgcd.org National Study Group for Chronic Disorganization, affiliated with NAPO
• www.childrenofhoarders.com supporting those with family members who have this problem
• www.helpinghoarders.com
• www.squalorsurvivors.com

Let me know what you think about the program.

Comments

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i like this part of the blog:"One thing that stood out to me was when "Melodie," a hoarder who was featured on the show, said it's like not having the ability to get the signal that says you're full and you want to keep eating, only it's stuff that you want to keep collecting. This woman was facing eviction for violating fire codes and she could barely walk through her apartment. Another thing that stuck out to me was her repeated use of the phrase "perfectly good." We talk about this all the time-- that the item may be perfectly good, but it doesn't mean it's perfectly good for you to own it and keep it." is very good

[Kathy Riggs]

I have a neighbor that is a hoarder. We have had to put up a privacy fence because the yard is so bad. Not only that, they have cats and the smell of cat urine/spray is horrid if you're outside. The house smells, the yard smells and the people that live there smell. It can't be healthy for people to live in a house that reeks of cat urine and full of filth. And on the show there was one lady that had garbage piled in her house and people just have paths to walk through; that's the way their house is. It's absolutely horrifing! EMS had to respond to a call there (that I place for them, they are both diabetics and one was in diabetic shock), as well as the fire dept. and they could only stand to be inside there for a couple minutes at a time and it was hard for them to get in past all the piles of trash and dirty dishes with their equipment. The worse thing is, they think nothing of it. Cats are on the counter licking off butter...OMG!! The post office & UPS people HATE making deliveries there because of the smell and piled up garbage outside the door.

[Maria Gellert]

Just watched the TLC Doc, where Melodies terapist told us that she was severely abused during her childhood. I guess it´s not actually a possibility to move back with her parents in that case. Since Melodie recieved her brain injury as a very young child (she mentions two years old) I wonder if that injury was a result of violence from her parents. This is something that´s happened often enough where abusive parents are involved. My heart is aching for Melodie, but since I live in another part of the world there´s not much I can do. I don´t think Oprah is going to be able to help either, even if that seem to be Meolodies own hope. She needs a professional caretaker that can help her on a long term.

Best of whises.
Maria

[StampOutSexism.org]

I know I'm very late to the party, but I recently saw a rerun of Melodie's episode and got to thinking, whatever happened to her? So I did some poking around and wound up here. I've been to Melodie's web site but didn't see any current info. Does anyone know what's happened to her?

It's hard to believe that in one of the most socially progressive places on earth, the San Francisco area, someone like Melodie would end up evicted and without the help she needs. Her brain injury and its ramifications need to be addressed; what she definitely didn't need was to be tossed out on the street. Shame on her landlords and the city, too.

As I recall she lived in that apartment since 1986. That's a long time! Why couldn't they work with her? It makes me wonder if anyone really understood the origin of her hoarding problem.

Melodie, if you're out there reading this, please know that there are people who care about you and want to know that you're okay.