Hoarding on TV

A recent episode of "House" entitled "The Dig" featured a storyline of a patient living in a hoarding situation. They treated the topic fairly respectfully with some characters disgusted and others fascinated and empathetic. The most empathetic character, of course, was the one to find the most important clue to the patient's illness.

Other recent fictional shows I have seen that have featured a hoarding theme...


Raising Hope     
"Dream Hoarders" Cute, funny, sensitive. Baby Hope crawls into the hoarded garden shed and they can't get her out. It brings out the secret of one family member who is collecting stuff but not doing anything with it.

CSI    
"CSI: Hoarding Can Kill" Dramatic, fairly sensitive.

Bones     
"The Beginning in the End" Dramatic. Dr. Sweets uses the phrase "Level V Hoarder" which is a reference to the Clutter Hoarding Scale, created by the ICD (Institute for Challenging Disorganization, formerly the NSGCD, National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization). An apartment has been hoarded to the point that the floor falls through to the apartment below. Yes, there are some bones involved.

South Park
"Insheeption" Oy. This one I can't recommend to anyone under 18, but it is a funny take on the current psychology on hoarding. I'll just have to say I guess it's a good sign that it's being parodied in a tacky cartoon, meaning it's more mainstream than it used to be. A kid is accused of hoarding his locker (what kid hasn't?), a counselor is oblivious to his own hoarding situation right in his office and a sheep "herder" is accused of being a "sheep hoarder." I have to tell you, a client of mine (a self-described "hoarder") told me about this episode and this person thought it was hilarious. Caution if you decide to watch it. I would rate it R as well as extremely tacky. Yes, I laughed.

2 Broke Girls
"And Hoarder Culture" I haven't seen this episode, but you can read a NASMM (National Association of Move Managers) blog post about it here. Again, hoarding is making its way into "mainstream" and maybe overall that's a good thing. But we also have to realize it's a serious problem that affects people (those who hoard, those who love them, children who have no choice to leave) mentally, emotionally and physically. And bad shows like this get the rest of us blogging about the REAL problem and issues and we get MORE exposure, right?