Is Hoarding Becoming a Bigger Problem or is it Simply Getting More Attention?

There seems to be an increase in interest in hoarding and hoarders lately on cable as well as mainstream network television and the internet. The Mayo Clinic defines hoarding as the excessive collection of items along with the inability to discard them. While hoarding has symptoms which are similar to other obsessive compulsive disorders or OCD, many hoarders don't exhibit other symptoms of OCD and researchers are working to better understand hoarding as its own distinct mental health problem. Not unlike drug and alcohol addictions, hoarding appears to impact members of every socioeconomic status or SES.

On cable, both A&E and TLC now have shows that showcase hoarders and the complex difficulties faced by friends and family members of those individuals. The hoarders that are featured on these shows go well beyond the average "pack rat" and appear to crossover into a zone that defies understanding by anyone not afflicted by the condition. The common link among them appears to be that they all become progressively worse over time and most of them don't view their hoarding as a problem, which makes it extremely difficult to treat. Some individuals hoard seemingly worthless knick knacks, while others collect living animals such as cats or dogs, keeping them in highly unsanitary conditions. Other people hoard food items as if the apocalypse may arrive at any moment and they will be left without anything to eat. Most of these individuals collect enough of the items that they are hoarding to have it infiltrate every element of their lives. Many of them eventually wind up with huge piles of these items strewn throughout their homes with only narrow pathways leading from one room to the next. What's interesting is that the items pile up in such a way that the hoarder can't even access the great majority of the items that they are keeping. How much value can be assigned to something that has been buried in a pile on one's floor for months or years?

When the hoarder is confronted with the task of cleaning up and getting rid of the overabundance of items that are suffocating their living space, they often become angry and anxious with some of them have complete meltdowns. It appears that in exchange for a counselor and a clean-up crew, hoarders agree to allow the entire process to be documented by a film crew. I'm curious about whether or not this is something that fascinates, repulses, or even entertains people. Apparently enough people find it interesting for there to be multiple shows and in-depth interviews on the subject. There are also multiple shows about addiction and recovery from alcohol and drugs. Do people relate to other individual's disorders and dysfunction or is it simply morbid curiosity?

The positive thing about all of the attention that hoarding has been getting is that there are an abundance of resources out there to help individuals that suffer from this disorder and hopefully the information is reaching the individuals that need it most.

Sources :

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hoarding/DS00966
http://www.ocfoundation.info/hoarding/